Antelope Hill Highway Bridge

Last updated
Antelope Hill Highway Bridge
Coordinates 32°43′8″N114°0′43″W / 32.71889°N 114.01194°W / 32.71889; -114.01194
Carried Ocean to Ocean Highway (formerly)
Crossed Gila River
Locale Yuma County, Arizona
Named for Antelope Hill, Arizona
OwnerYuma County
Characteristics
DesignTwin concrete girder multi-span bridge
MaterialConcrete
Pier constructionTimber
Total length975 feet (297 m) [1]
Width18 feet (5 m)
Traversable?No
Longest span65 feet (20 m)
No. of spans15
History
ArchitectLamar Cobb
Constructed byPerry Borchers (initially)
Arizona Highway Department aided by Arizona State Penitentiary convict labor (Winter 1914 onward)
Construction start1914 (1914)
Construction end1915 (1915)
Opened18 August 1915
Rebuilt1917; 1918
CollapsedAfter 1929
Closed1929
Replaced by Gillespie Dam Bridge
McPhaul Suspension Bridge
Antelope Hill Highway Bridge
USA Arizona location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Tacna, Arizona
Coordinates 32°43′8″N114°0′43″W / 32.71889°N 114.01194°W / 32.71889; -114.01194
Area0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built1914 (1914) to 1915 (1915) [2]
Built byPerry E. Borchers (started)
Arizona State Highway Department (finished)
with Arizona State Penitentiary convict laborers
Architectural styleConcrete Girder
MPS Vehicular Bridges in Arizona MPS
NRHP reference No. 79003444 [3]
Added to NRHPJune 28, 1979
Location
Antelope Hill Highway Bridge

The Antelope Hill Highway Bridge (also known as the Antelope Hill Bridge) is a historic bridge over the Gila River in Tacna, Arizona, U.S. It was built between 1914 and 1915 as a ten-span concrete girder bridge. The bridge served as an integral piece of the Ocean to Ocean Highway between Yuma and Phoenix from 1915 to 1922, when it was bypassed by an alternate route through Gila Bend, paralleling the Gillespie Dam. The bridge and original highway were bypassed mainly due to damage caused by flooding along the river floodplain it was constructed on. After being repurposed for traffic traveling north from Yuma, the bridge was finally abandoned in 1929 following completion of the McPhaul Suspension Bridge. The ruins of the old bridge are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Contents

History

In 1912, Arizona state engineer Lamar Cobb surveyed two different locations to construct an auto bridge over the Gila River. One location was near the town of Dome while the other was located further east along the river at the base of Antelope Hill. Cobb chose the latter as the preferred site for a new bridge. In 1913, engineers working within Cobb's office designed a multiple span concrete girder bridge, with the concrete sections measuring 1,000 feet (305 m) in length. This did not include the length of the approach spans to be constructed of timber trestle structures. The longest single-span would measure 65 feet (20 m) long. In total, the new bridge would have 15 separate spans. Guard rails on the bridge would be constructed from steel piping. [1]

Cobb opened competitive bidding for the bridge in December 1913. However, the state initially rejected every bid, wishing to use prison labor to construct the bridge instead of contracted labor. The bridge had to be redesigned when Cobb calculated there wasn't an adequate amount of manpower in the Arizona prison system to match the project's size. Having reworked his original plans, Cobb once again opened the project to competitive bidding, awarding the contract to an individual named Parry Borchers in 1914. Construction began in June 1914 but stopped soon afterward due to Borchers defaulting on his loans. Several months later, a winter flood badly damaged the incomplete structure. Borchers' failure to complete the project resulted in the state taking over construction and completing the bridge using prison labor. The Antelope Hill Highway Bridge was finally opened to traffic on August 18, 1915. The event was marked with a celebratory gala picnic attended by thousands of individuals. [4]

The bridge was originally part of the main highway between Yuma and Phoenix, known as the Ocean to Ocean Highway. [4] The route also carried several auto trails such as the Dixie Overland Highway, Bankhead Highway and Old Spanish Trail. [5] It was partly rebuilt in 1917-1918 after the 1916 flood washed away the northern approach to the bridge; the modification added five more concrete spans and a wooden trestle. [2] Washouts and destruction of the bridge by flooding were common due to its placement on a weak soil area along the Gila River floodplain. Damage to the bridge came to be expected every time a major flood event occurred on the lower Gila River. Two particularly large floods in November 1919 and February 1920 not only damaged the bridge but completely submerged it as well as washed out a large section of the highway it served. This led to the Arizona Highway Department deciding to construct an entirely different route to bypass the floodplain altogether. In 1922, construction of an alternate route through Gila Bend was completed. The new route crossed the Gila River with a concrete apron at the foot of the Gillespie Dam. The apron itself would be replaced five years later by the new Gillespie Dam Bridge. This effectively ended the purpose for which the Antelope Hill Highway Bridge was constructed. The alternate route became the new main highway to Phoenix and was designated as part of U.S. Route 80 in 1926. [4] US 80 would later be replaced by Interstate 8. [5]

Despite no longer being the main route between Yuma and Phoenix, the Antelope Hill Highway Bridge was still utilized as the main route for traffic traveling north from Yuma. However, costly flood damage continued, causing the Antelope Hill Highway Bridge to be completely abandoned in 1929. It was subsequently replaced by the McPhaul Suspension Bridge as the main north–south auto connection from Yuma. The new bridge later became part of U.S. Route 95 before being abandoned itself. [1] Despite total abandonment, the Antelope Hill Highway Bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since June 28, 1979. [3] Where the replacement McPhaul Bridge and Gillespie Dam Bridge are still intact, the years of flood damage and abandonment have left what remains of the Antelope Hill Highway Bridge in ruins. The Antelope Hill Highway Bridge remains can still be accessed by foot from Roll Road, but the path to the bridge is impassable to vehicles. The Antelope Hill Highway Bridge is one of only three surviving twin concrete girder bridges in Arizona, with the other two being the Santa Cruz Bridge and Hell Canyon Bridge. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 8</span> Interstate Highway in California and Arizona

Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, just southeast of Casa Grande, Arizona. In California, the freeway travels through the San Diego metropolitan area as the Ocean Beach Freeway and the Mission Valley Freeway before traversing the Cuyamaca Mountains and providing access through the Imperial Valley, including the city of El Centro. Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, I-8 continues through the city of Yuma across the Sonoran Desert to Casa Grande, in between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gila Bend, Arizona</span> Town in Maricopa County, Arizona

Gila Bend, founded in 1872, is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The town is named for an approximately 90-degree bend in the Gila River, which is near the community's current location. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gila River</span> River in New Mexico and Arizona, United States

The Gila River is a 649-mile-long (1,044 km) tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of nearly 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) that lies mostly within the U.S., but also extends into northern Sonora, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge</span> Bridge in Oregon to Wedderburn, Oregon

The Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge, also known as the Rogue River Bridge and the Isaac Lee Patterson Memorial Bridge, is a concrete arch bridge that spans the Rogue River in Curry County, Oregon. The bridge was constructed by the Mercer Fraser Company of Eureka, California. The bridge carries U.S. Route 101 across the river, near the point where the river empties into the Pacific Ocean, and connects the towns of Gold Beach and Wedderburn. A bridge with strong Art Deco influences, the Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge is a prominent example of the designs of the Oregon bridge designer and highway engineer Conde McCullough. It was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1982. It is part of a series of notable bridges designed by McCullough for the Oregon Coast Highway in the 1930s. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coolidge Dam</span> Dam in Gila and Pinal Counties, Arizona

The Coolidge Dam is a reinforced concrete multiple dome and buttress dam 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Globe, Arizona on the Gila River. Built between 1924 and 1928, the Coolidge Dam was part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. Coolidge Dam was named after the 30th US president, Calvin Coolidge and was dedicated by President Coolidge on March 4, 1930. The design and construction engineer was Herman Neuffer, who oversaw much of the construction undertaken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) during the 1920s in Arizona and New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Bridge, Penrith</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

The Victoria Bridge, also known as the Victoria Bridge over the Nepean River, is a heritage-listed former railway bridge and now wrought iron box plate girder road bridge across the Nepean River on the Great Western Highway in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith in the City of Penrith local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge was designed by John Whitton, the Engineer–in–Chief of New South Wales Government Railways, and built from 1862 to 1867 by William Piper, Peto Brassey and Betts (superstructure), William Watkins (piers). It is also known as Victoria Bridge, The Nepean Bridge and RTA Bridge No. 333. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 27 May 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 95 in Arizona</span> Section of United States Numbered Highway in Arizona

U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major U.S. Highway in the American state of Arizona. Starting at the Mexican border in San Luis, US 95 acts as the main highway north through Gadsden, Somerton and Yuma before arriving in Quartzsite. Between Quartzsite and the California border on the Colorado River in Ehrenberg, US 95 runs entirely concurrent with I-10. Part of US 95 between San Luis and Yuma is maintained by local governments instead of the Arizona Department of Transportation, which maintains the remainder of the route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillespie Dam</span> Dam in Maricopa County, Arizona

The Gillespie Dam is a concrete gravity dam located on the Gila River between the towns of Buckeye and Gila Bend, Arizona. The dam was constructed during the 1920s for primarily irrigation purposes. It was key to the development of a 72,000-acre (29,000 ha) parcel owned by "millionaire" W.S. Gillespie of Tulsa, Oklahoma, initially allowing for irrigation of 10,000 acres (4,000 ha). A portion of the dam failed unexpectedly in 1993 during unusually heavy rains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 80 in Arizona</span> 1926–1989 American highway

U.S. Route 80 (US 80), also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, the Broadway of America and the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, was a major transcontinental highway that existed in the U.S. state of Arizona from November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989. At its peak, US 80 traveled from the California border in Yuma to the New Mexico state line near Lordsburg. US 80 was an important highway in the development of Arizona's car culture. Like its northern counterpart, US 66, the popularity of travel along US 80 helped lead to the establishment of many unique roadside businesses and attractions, including many iconic motor hotels and restaurants. US 80 was a particularly long highway, reaching a length of almost 500 miles (800 km) within the state of Arizona alone for most of the route's existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Course of the Colorado River</span> Route and confluences of the Colorado River in the United States and Mexico

The Colorado River is a major river of the western United States and northwest Mexico in North America. Its headwaters are in the Rocky Mountains where La Poudre Pass Lake is its source. Located in north central Colorado it flows southwest through the Colorado Plateau country of western Colorado, southeastern Utah and northwestern Arizona where it flows through the Grand Canyon. It turns south near Las Vegas, Nevada, forming the Arizona–Nevada border in Lake Mead and the Arizona–California border a few miles below Davis Dam between Laughlin, Nevada and Needles, California before entering Mexico in the Colorado Desert. Most of its waters are diverted into the Imperial Valley of Southern California. In Mexico its course forms the boundary between Sonora and Baja California before entering the Gulf of California. This article describes most of the major features along the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciénega Bridge</span> Historic bridge in Pima County, Arizona

Ciénega Bridge is an open-spandrel arch bridge which crosses Ciénega Creek and the Union Pacific Railroad near Vail, Arizona. Originally constructed in 1921, the bridge was part of U.S. Route 80, a major transcontinental highway, from 1926 to 1956. Being the oldest bridge of its kind in Arizona, the Ciénega Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge also holds the title of being the longest open-spandrel concrete arch bridge within the state. Currently, the bridge carries Marsh Station Road, which is part of Historic U.S. Route 80 as of 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottauquechee River Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Ottauquechee River Bridge is a steel girder bridge carrying United States Route 5 across the Ottauquechee River in Hartland, Vermont. The bridge replaced a c. 1930 Warren deck truss bridge, built in the wake of Vermont's devastating 1927 floods, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean to Ocean Bridge</span> NRHP-listed bridge in Arizona

The Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge is a through truss bridge spanning the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona. Built in 1915, it was the first highway crossing of the lower Colorado and is the earliest example of a through truss bridge in Arizona. It is also the only example of a Pennsylvania truss within Arizona. Originally the bridge carried the transcontinental Ocean-to-Ocean Highway and later carried its successor, US 80 until a new bridge was built to the west in 1956. Between 1988 and 2001, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and only traversable by pedestrians and bicyclists. After a major restoration, the bridge was rehabilitated and reopened to vehicular traffic in 2002, with a re-dedication by the Quechan nation and Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area. The bridge became part of Historic US 80 in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlesex–Winooski River Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Middlesex–Winooski River Bridge is a steel girder bridge carrying U.S. Route 2 (US 2) across the Winooski River in a rural area on the town line between Moretown and Middlesex, Vermont. The two-span bridge was built in 2010, replacing a 1928 three-span Pratt through truss, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hassayampa Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Hassayampa Bridge is a bridge spanning the Hassayampa River in Hassayampa, Arizona, located in Maricopa County. The bridge was completed in 1929 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The bridge was scheduled for demolition in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillespie Dam Bridge</span> NRHP registered place in Maricopa County, Arizona

The Gillespie Dam Bridge is a through truss bridge spanning the Gila River in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. The bridge was constructed to bypass a concrete apron through the river in front of the Gillespie Dam, which was often closed due to flooding. Construction of the bridge started in 1925 and completed in 1927. From its opening until 1956, the bridge was part of U.S. Route 80 (US 80), a transcontinental highway between San Diego, California and Tybee Island, Georgia. The bridge was restored in 2012 by Maricopa County for the Arizona Centennial and now includes an educational interpretive center for visitors. The bridge became part of Historic US 80 in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McPhaul Suspension Bridge</span> United States historic place in Yuma County, Arizona

The McPhaul Suspension Bridge, sometimes known as Yuma, Arizona's Bridge to Nowhere, is a suspension bridge that used to carry a section of Arizona Route 95. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge, which was named for local Yuma resident Henry Harrison McPhaul, was built over the Gila River in 1929 and replaced in 1968 when it was deemed insufficient for modern transportation needs. At only 16 feet wide, the bridge was too narrow for a US numbered highway. A dam and replacement bridge were built and the river was rerouted.

Bridge Number VT105-10 is a historic bridge, carrying Vermont Route 105 across the Missisquoi River in Sheldon, Vermont. Built in 1947 and rehabilitated in 1980, it is the state's oldest surviving four-span girder bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

The Black River Bridge near Carrizo, Arizona was funded in 1911 and built in 1912. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It spans the Black River, bringing an army road, now Indian Route 9, over the river from Fort Apache to the railroad at the former town of Rice, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gila River Bridge</span> Bridge near Clifton, Arizona

The Gila River Bridge near Clifton, Arizona, also known as the Clifton Bridge, is a Luten Arch bridge which was built in 1918. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 State of Arizona (31 October 2004). "Historic Property Inventory Forms – Yuma Bridges" (PDF). Inventory Records. Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 T. Lindsay Baker (July 1, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Antelope Hill Highway Bridge / Gila River Bridge". National Park Service . Retrieved February 16, 2019. With accompanying photos: one from 1915 and three from 1978
  3. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Fraser, Clayton B. (July 2006). "Historic American Engineering Record: Gillespie Dam Bridge" (PDF). pp. 14–16 via National Park Service Santa Fe Support Office.
  5. 1 2 Weingroff, Richard F. (October 17, 2013). "U.S. Route 80: The Dixie Overland Highway". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved April 1, 2015.