Red Rock Bridge

Red Rock Bridge
Red Rock Bridge
	A postcard of the Red Rock Bridge, c. 1901–1902
Coordinates	34°43′05″N114°29′16″W / 34.71817°N 114.48767°W
Carries	Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (1890–1945); US 66 (1947–1966)
Crosses	Colorado River
Locale	Arizona, California
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever, Truss
Material	Steel
Total length	990 feet (300 m)
Clearance below	41 feet (12 m)
History
Designer	John Alexander Low Waddell
Constructed by	Phoenix Bridge Company
Construction start	1890
Construction end	1890
Construction cost	$500,000 ($14.1 million in 2021)
Rebuilt	1947
Closed	1966, dismantled in 1976
Location

Last updated May 24, 2023

The Red Rock Bridge was a bridge across the Colorado River at Topock, Arizona that carried 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

In 1880, the Atlantic & Pacific railroad's Western division began construction of a line from Isleta, New Mexico, heading west to meet the Southern Pacific at Needles, California, on the western bank of the Colorado just north of Topock. The Southern Pacific was simultaneously building eastward from Mohave, California, to Needles. The line reached Kingman, Arizona, in 1882. The first bridge across the Colorado, made entirely of wood, was completed in May 1883 and the two railroads met in Needles August 9 of that year. This crossing was at Eastbridge, Arizona, three miles south of Needles. The bridge was over 1,600 feet (490 m) long and was built on pilings driven into the alluvial soils of the 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]

In 1890, the railroad hired the Phoenix Iron Company to build a new bridge, one of the first steel bridges in the country. The cost was nearly $500,000, which was the equivalent to $14.1 million in 2021.^[1]^[4] The bridge was a single-track 990-foot (300 m) cantilever 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 Mohave Canyon, within Topock Gorge, upon piers of red sandstone, quarried in 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 locomotives required further strengthening of the 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 Lake Havasu City, Arizona was designated as the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge to provide habitat for migratory birds. The Red Rock Bridge was within the refuge.^[9]

Replacement

By 1945, the railroad (now the Santa Fe) constructed a new rail bridge over the Colorado. The railroad agreed to remove the Red Rock bridge at the time the replacement bridge was authorized. However, since the Old Trails Bridge was insufficient to carry the current auto and truck traffic of U.S. Route 66,^[10] it was decided that the Red Rock Bridge could be used for the roadway.^[4] Re-purposing the bridge was also less expensive than demolition.^[10] A bill, introduced by Arizona Senator Ernest McFarland on November 30, 1944^[11] and subsequently passed by Congress authorizing the railroad to convey ownership of the bridge to the states of California and Arizona and was signed into law by President Roosevelt on January 6, 1945.^[12] Joint ownership by the states of the bridge was accepted on August 24, 1945, in the office of Arizona Governor 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 $725,455 in 2021^[1]). California allocated $130,000 (equivalent to $1.57 million in 2021^[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.^[4] The Old Trails Bridge was subsequently sold to private ownership, becoming the property of Pacific Gas and Electric, which retrofitted the bridge to carry a natural gas pipeline across the Colorado River.^[14] The Red Rock functioned as a highway bridge for almost twenty years, until Interstate 40 was built with a new four-lane steel bridge. The old bridge was abandoned in 1966 and stood unused until it was demolished in 1976.^[4] The only remnants are 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]

Related Research Articles

Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United States.

Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the California border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95. The population was 4,959 at the 2020 census, up from 4,844 at the 2010 census.

The Mohave Valley is a valley located mostly on the east shore of the south-flowing Colorado River in northwest Arizona. The valley extends into California's San Bernardino County; the northern side of the valley extends into extreme southeast Clark County, Nevada. The main part of the valley lies in southwest Mohave County, Arizona and is at the intersection of the southeast Mojave and northwest Sonoran deserts.

Topock is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population within the CDP was 2. Topock and the surrounding region have a ZIP Code of 86436; in 2010, the population of the 86436 ZCTA was 2,104, almost all of whom live in the Golden Shores CDP to the north.

The Sacramento Mountains are a mountain range in the Eastern Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California.

Topock Gorge is a mountainous canyon and gorge section of the Colorado River located between Interstate 40 and Lake Havasu. The town of Needles, California, to the northwest, was named for the "needle-like" vertical rock outcroppings. The natural landmarks and river crossing by them were one of the journey markers for travelers on historic Route 66.

U.S. Route 66 is a part of a former United States Numbered Highway in the state of California that ran from the west in Santa Monica on the Pacific Ocean through Los Angeles and San Bernardino to Needles at the Arizona state line. It was truncated during the 1964 renumbering and its signage removed in 1974. The highway is now mostly replaced with several streets in Los Angeles, State Route 2 (SR 2), SR 110, SR 66, San Bernardino County Route 66 (CR 66), Interstate 15 (I-15), and I-40.

U.S. Route 66 also known as the Will Rogers Highway, was a major United States Numbered Highway in the state of Arizona from November 11, 1926, to June 26, 1985. US 66 covered a total of 385.20 miles (619.92 km) through Arizona. The highway ran from west to east, starting in Needles, California, through Kingman and Seligman to the New Mexico state line. Nationally, US 66 ran from Santa Monica, California, to Chicago, Illinois. In its height of popularity, US 66 was one of the most popular highways in the state of Arizona, sometimes carrying over one million cars a year.

Interstate 40 (I-40) is an east–west Interstate Highway that has a 359.11-mile (577.93 km) section in the US state of Arizona, connecting sections in California and New Mexico. The Interstate is also referred to as the Purple Heart Trail to honor those wounded in combat who have received the Purple Heart. It enters Arizona from the west at a crossing of the Colorado River southwest of Kingman. It travels eastward across the northern portion of the state, connecting the cities of Kingman, Ash Fork, Williams, Flagstaff, Winslow, and Holbrook. I-40 continues into New Mexico, heading to Albuquerque. The highway has major junctions with U.S. Route 93 (US 93)—the main highway connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas, Nevada—in Kingman and again approximately 22 miles (35 km) to the east and I-17—the freeway linking Phoenix to northern Arizona) in Flagstaff.

The Black Mountains of northwest Arizona are an extensive, mostly linear, north-south trending 75 miles (121 km) long mountain range. It forms the north-south border of southwest Mohave County as it borders the eastern shore of the south-flowing Colorado River from Hoover Dam.

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. It preserves habitat for desert bighorn sheep, the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, and other animals. The refuge protects 30 river miles - 300 miles (480 km) of shoreline - from Needles, California, to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. One of the last remaining natural stretches of the lower Colorado River flows through the 20-mile-long (32 km) Topock Gorge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento Wash</span> Waterbody in Mohave County, Arizona

The Sacramento Wash is a major drainage of northwest Arizona in Mohave County. The wash is east of the Black Canyon of the Colorado and drains into the south-flowing Colorado River 45 mi south of Lake Mohave, and 90 mi south of Hoover Dam at Lake Mead. The wash outfall is in the center-south of the Havasu-Mohave Lakes Watershed. An equivalent wash drains to the west of the Colorado River and the Black Canyon, draining southeast Nevada and a small part of California, the Piute Wash of the Piute Valley. The Piute Wash outfall is upstream of the Sacramento's outfall by about 15 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohave Mountains</span> Landform in Mohave County, Arizona

The Mohave Mountains are a small 18-mi (29 km) long mountain range of northwest Arizona. The range is a northwest trending range in southwest Mohave County that parallels a southeast-flowing stretch of the Colorado River, the Arizona-California border. The range also forms the southwest border of a flatland region to its east and north, namely, Dutch Flat which lies east, at the south end of Sacramento Valley. Lake Havasu City, AZ on the Colorado, lays opposite the southwest flank of the range, where the London Bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu.

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.

The Old Trails Bridge is a historic bridge over the Colorado River in San Bernardino County and Mohave County in the United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It has also been known as Topock Bridge and as Needles Bridge.

Steamboats on the Colorado River operated from the river mouth at the Colorado River Delta on the Gulf of California in Mexico, up to the Virgin River on the Lower Colorado River Valley in the Southwestern United States from 1852 until 1909, when the construction of the Laguna Dam was completed. The shallow draft paddle steamers were found to be the most economical way to ship goods between the Pacific Ocean ports and settlements and mines along the lower river, putting in at landings in Sonora state, Baja California Territory, California state, Arizona Territory, New Mexico Territory, and Nevada state. They remained the primary means of transportation of freight until the advent of the more economical railroads began cutting away at their business from 1878 when the first line entered Arizona Territory.

Powell was a railroad station and settlement in Mohave County, Arizona, United States from 1883 to 1890.

Beal was a railroad station on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad line between Needles, California and Topock, Arizona from 1889. It was located 5 miles north on the railroad line to Needles from Mellen.

Eastbridge was a railroad station on the east bank of the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It was located at the site of the first bridge the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad built across that river, three miles southeast of Needles, in San Bernardino County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Needles (Arizona)</span> Rock formation in the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona

The Needles are a distinctive group of rock pinnacles, mountain peaks adjacent to the Topock Gorge, and the Colorado River on the northwestern extreme of the Mohave Mountains within the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. They range from 1207 to over 1600 feet in altitude.

References

1 2 3 4 Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved January 1, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
1 2 Lingenfelter, Richard E. (1978). Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 (PDF). Tucson: The University of Arizona Press. p. 82. ISBN 0816506507 . Retrieved 18 April 2017.
↑ Fitzpatrick, Linda; Conkle, James M. (2010). Needles, Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9780738580647.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Olsen, Russell A. (2008). The Complete Route 66 Lost & Found. Voyageur Press. p. 288. ISBN 9781610600132.
1 2 Steel Construction Digest. American Institute of Steel Construction. 1944.
↑ Tyrell, Henry Grattan (1911). History of Bridge Engineering. Chicago. p. 274.
↑ Lowenthal, Pete (February 9, 1889). "The New Bridge". The Arizona Sentinel. Yuma, Arizona. p. 3. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Sonderman, Joe (2010). Images of American Route 66 in Arizona. Arcadia Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 9780738579429.
↑ "About the Refuge – Havasu National Wildlife Refuge". fws.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
1 2 3 4 "$130,000 Allocated For Desert Highway Bridge". The San Bernardino County Sun. July 20, 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 24 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Uncle Sam Offered A.T.&S.F. Bridge". Oakland Tribure. November 30, 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Bill Signed to Convey Bridge to West States". Tucson Daily Citizen. January 6, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Railway Bridge Is To Carry Highway". Tucson Daily Citizen. August 24, 1945. p. 14. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Olsen, Russell A. (2006). Route 66: Lost & Found. Vol. 2. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing. ISBN 1610604997. OCLC 53911737 – via Google Books.

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[inflation-USGDP-1] 1 2 3 4 Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved January 1, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.

[sc-2] 1 2 Lingenfelter, Richard E. (1978). Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 (PDF). Tucson: The University of Arizona Press. p. 82. ISBN 0816506507 . Retrieved 18 April 2017.

[ne-3] Fitzpatrick, Linda; Conkle, James M. (2010). Needles, Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9780738580647.

[r66-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Olsen, Russell A. (2008). The Complete Route 66 Lost & Found. Voyageur Press. p. 288. ISBN 9781610600132.

[scd-5] 1 2 Steel Construction Digest. American Institute of Steel Construction. 1944.

[be-6] Tyrell, Henry Grattan (1911). History of Bridge Engineering. Chicago. p. 274.

[as1-7] Lowenthal, Pete (February 9, 1889). "The New Bridge". The Arizona Sentinel. Yuma, Arizona. p. 3. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[iam-8] Sonderman, Joe (2010). Images of American Route 66 in Arizona. Arcadia Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 9780738579429.

[usfw-9] "About the Refuge – Havasu National Wildlife Refuge". fws.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2017.

[sbc-10] 1 2 3 4 "$130,000 Allocated For Desert Highway Bridge". The San Bernardino County Sun. July 20, 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 24 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[ot1-11] "Uncle Sam Offered A.T.&S.F. Bridge". Oakland Tribure. November 30, 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[tdc1-12] "Bill Signed to Convey Bridge to West States". Tucson Daily Citizen. January 6, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[tdc2-13] "Railway Bridge Is To Carry Highway". Tucson Daily Citizen. August 24, 1945. p. 14. Retrieved 18 April 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[olsen-14] 1 2 Olsen, Russell A. (2006). Route 66: Lost & Found. Vol. 2. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing. ISBN 1610604997. OCLC 53911737 – via Google Books.

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