An Upclose Visit to a Bridge off of US 95 N - Near Yuma, Arizona

Eric & I passed this suspension

bridge while driving south from

Quartzsite on US 95.

I've wondered about the water it crosses and where the road it connects goes.

One day Eric & I took a drive to see the bridge close up and find out more about it.

The bridge is no longer usable & there's a nearby nest of Bees.

The road to the bridge is

blocked off.

The No Trespassing sign

discourages people on

foot.

With many warnings to stay off the bridge, I decide to take these pictures from behind the guide rail.  

The plaque on the left side of the bridge has been removed & has been graffitied.

The plaque on the right has also

been removed.

This is the McPhail Bridge.  It was built in 1928 - 1929 to cross the Gila River.  The Imperial Dam, north of Yuma, was built in 1936 - 1938.  The Gila River was rerouted and another bridge was built over the river's new route, leaving this bridge "high and dry."

The bridge was used until 1968.  Arizona DOT decided that it wouldn't safely carry the weight of heavier modern trucks.  That's probably when the plaques were removed from it.  The McPhail Bridge became Arizona's "Bridge to Nowhere."