Red Top Wash Bridge

Red Top Wash Bridge. .

Constructed 1931, Widened 1949 , Replaced 2009-2010 , Federal Highway Administration , Arizona State Highway Department , Owner: Yuma County , Designer: TransSystems Corporation , Contractor: Bison Contracting Co.

, The Arizona State Highway Department placed a 4-span, 160 feet long, reinforced concrete T-beam bridge over Red Top Wash in 1931 as part of its efforts to improve the main road between Phoenix and Yuma. Its route approximates the old Gila Trail, a military and wagon road and the 1883 Southern Pacific Railroad. Starting in 1911, the old trail was included in the Pikes Peak Ocean-to-Ocean Highway. The alignment was taken into the federal-aid highway system as US 80 in 1927. The bridge was historic for its association with this important state highway and transcontinental route. , In 1931, this was the most heavily traveled state route in Arizona. The highway was widened in 1949 and then bypassed in 1967 by the modern Interstate-8. The new prestressed concrete beam bridge placed in 2010 was one of the first in the state to be built using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds intended to stimulate the economy. , The two survey monuments below were taken from the former Red Top Wash Bridge before it was replaced.