Red Rock Bridge

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Coordinates: 34°43′05″N 114°29′16″W / 34.71817°N 114.48767°W / 34.71817; -114.48767
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Red Rock Bridge
Phoenix Bridge Company
Construction start1890
Construction end1890
Construction cost$500,000 ($15.5 million in 2023[1])
Rebuilt1947
Closed1966, dismantled in 1976
Location
Map

The Red Rock Bridge was a bridge across the

Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1890, replacing a wooden bridge dating to 1883 that was repeatedly washed out during spring flooding. It was used by the railroad until 1945 when a new bridge was built. The Red Rock Bridge was then converted to carry the automobile traffic of U.S. Route 66, and did so from 1947 until 1966 when Route 66 traffic was directed onto the Interstate 40
bridge. At that time the Red Rock Bridge was abandoned, and it was eventually dismantled in 1976.

History

Atlantic & Pacific Route Map

In 1880, the Atlantic & Pacific railroad's Western division began construction of a line from

flood plain of the Mohave Valley. The site had no solid base on either bank.[2]

The wooden bridge was washed away in 1884, rebuilt and again destroyed in 1886, and again in 1888. This led the railroad to seek a better bridge that could withstand the strong spring currents of the Colorado when it carried the winter snow melt.[3] A new crossing was located about 10 miles (16 km) farther south at Topock, Arizona where the bridge could be built on rock foundations.[2]

A photograph of the bridge nearly complete in 1890

In 1890, the railroad hired the

through-truss bridge.[5] The bridge had a center suspended span of 330 feet (100 m), a clearance of 41 feet (12 m) above the high water level of the river, and contained 750 tons of steel. It was designed by John Alexander Low Waddell and was built in eighty days under Wadell's supervision. When constructed, it was the largest cantilever bridge in the country.[6]

The bridge was built at the head of

Prescott Junction. The piers, one on each bank 660 feet (200 m) apart and a third in the river 140 feet (43 m) from the west bank, were built by Sooysmith & Co. Connecting the new bridge to the old track required about 10 miles (16 km) of new track on the California side and about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) on the Arizona side.[7]

Because of increasing weights of trains, the bridge was strengthened in 1901 with additional stringers and heavier floor beams. Even heavier

trusses in 1910.[5]

Early use by automobiles

Automobiles using the National Old Trails Road crossed the Colorado in the early 20th century by the Needles Ferry. Flooding in 1914 disabled the ferry service, and the bridge was put into use by cars when wooden planks were laid across the railroad ties. Railroad employees allowed cars onto the bridge between scheduled train traffic.[4] The railroad charged each motorist a toll to cross the bridge.[8] This continued until the opening of the Old Trails Bridge, approximately 800 feet (240 m) downstream, on February 20, 1916.[4]

Wildlife Refuge

In 1941, 30 miles (48 km) of the lower Colorado, from Needles to

migratory birds. The Red Rock Bridge was within the refuge.[9]

Replacement

A postcard of the three bridges crossing the Colorado River, by which time, the Red Rock Bridge carried U.S. Route 66

By 1945, the railroad (now the

Sidney Osborn. The railway also donated several miles of right of way leading to the bridge.[10] The ties were removed and replaced with a concrete road deck, at an estimated cost of $60,000 (equivalent to $805,291 in 2023[1]). California allocated $130,000 (equivalent to $1.74 million in 2023[1]) for the project, including approach work.[10] The bridge provided a vehicular river crossing without the weight limit that was imposed at the Old Trails Bridge.[13]

The Red Rock Bridge re-opened for auto traffic on May 21, 1947, now carrying US 66.

concrete pilings on either side of the river where the bridge once stood, where Old Trails Bridge remains standing, still a vital part of an operational gas pipeline.[14]

References

  1. ^
    Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0816506507
    . Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ISBN 9780738580647
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781610600132
    .
  5. ^ a b Steel Construction Digest. American Institute of Steel Construction. 1944.
  6. ^ Tyrell, Henry Grattan (1911). History of Bridge Engineering. Chicago. p. 274.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  8. ISBN 9780738579429
    .
  9. ^ "About the Refuge – Havasu National Wildlife Refuge". fws.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  10. ^
    Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  11. Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  12. Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  13. Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  14. ^
    OCLC 53911737
    – via Google Books.
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