There are two attractions that come to mind when most people think of Yuma. One is the
Old Yuma Territorial Prison, which is now a state park, and the other is the Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge. The Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge was the first automobile bridge over the Colorado River. It opened to traffic in 1914. Since this bridge was the only river bridge over a huge area, it forced many people who were driving from east to west or west to east, to make a big detour to the Yuma area so they could cross the Colorado River safely on a bridge. At the time, the Colorado was a huge, wide, deep and cantankerous river that was very difficult to cross. That is no longer the case, since the river has been over allocated and over irrigated to provide water to a thirsty population in an arid climate.
Nevertheless, this is still an iconic bridge and is a marvel of early bridge building techniques.
The Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge and the adjacent railroad bridge, were built where the Colorado River squeezes between bluffs on each side, at least it used to squeeze between bluffs.
The bridge is 444 feet long, but these days, the majority of that span is over a dry riverbed with just a narrow stream snaking through the historic river channel. The bridge opened to automobile traffic in 1914. It was completely rehabilitated in 1943, during World War II, as a "national necessity" because, at the time, a major federal highway went over the bridge, providing a crucial link between California and the rest of the nation. Over the years, this bridge was bypassed by a new U.S. Highway 80 bridge, farther west on North 4th Avenue and then it was replaced again by the towering, twin bridges of Interstate 8 a short distance away. The bridge was eventually closed to automobile traffic in 1988 and became a pedestrian-only bridge. I have heard conflicting stories about why the bridge was closed. I have been told that it was functionally obsolete since there were newer and wider bridges nearby, I was told that the physical condition of the bridge deteriorated to the point that it had to be closed due to safety concerns and I was also told that there was nothing structurally wrong with it, it was just too narrow to accommodate modern traffic. After all the bridge was only 16 feet, 9 inches wide, barely wide enough for two cars. In that era, bridges were typically narrow, but the standard width was 18 feet, so this bridge was narrower than most bridges of its day. It was impossible to two trucks, or buses, to pass each other on this extremely narrow bridge. Maybe all three scenarios played a part in the bridge's closing, that is my personal opinion. At any rate, the bridge was reopened to vehicular traffic in 2002 after an extensive rehabilitation. I remember reading about the rehabilitation project in the newspaper when it was still in the planning stages. The California side of the river is the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation and an Indian casino had already opened for business while the bridge was closed. The hotel/casino is just a short distance north of the bridge. The reopening of the bridge greatly facilitated traffic flow to and from the hotel/casino to Yuma and from the reservation, in general to Yuma. Although the bridge is carrying automobile traffic again, there is one major difference. It is open to only one direction of traffic at a time. Traffic goes down the middle of the bridge while both sides are used as pedestrian walkways. The direction of traffic flow is controlled by traffic lights on each end of the bridge. The traffic alternates between northbound and southbound, depending on who has the green light.
One iconic feature of this century old bridge is the fact that the words "OCEAN TO OCEAN BRIDGE, YUMA" are on the side of this iron truss bridge and the letters are lit up at night.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Old Town Yuma
Yuma, Arizona is a city with more than 100,000 people, but its downtown area is very peaceful. If downtown is the only part of Yuma that a person saw, the person would most likely get the impression that Yuma is a very small town, but that is not the case. The only traffic lights in downtown Yuma are along the outer edges, 2 intersections on 4th Avenue, one intersection on
East Harold Giss Parkway and some on North Penitentiary Avenue and these traffic lights control traffic flow across a one way bridge. I will write about that bridge soon. It is one of the oldest automobile bridges in the western part of the United States. For the most part, traffic is very light in downtown Yuma and the streets are narrow. There are alot of adobe buildings. The entire town of Yuma was completely built out of adobe in the early years, but the adobe buildings would melt away during floods, since the town was located at the confluence of two rivers. The principal street of Yuma in the town's early years was Main Street. Main Street is still the heart of downtown Yuma, but is no longer the city's primary business street. In the early days of Yuma, Main Street was one of the widest streets in the United States. It was so wide that a team of horses pulling a buggy could turn completely around in the street. The street remained this wide through the early days of the automobile, but eventually, the growth in Yuma shifted away from downtown and, in 1969, a two block stretch of South Main Street was closed and turned into a pedestrian mall. It was thought at the time that eliminating vehicles from the street and allowing people to visit the stores without having to watch for traffic would revitalize the downtown area, but, as in most cases around the country, this pedestrian mall failed miserably.
The two block stretch of South Main Street between Second Street and Harold Giss Parkway was reopened to motorized traffic in 2002. I remember seeing South Main Street when it was a pedestrian mall. Most of the businesses had closed and the former street was lined with vacant storefronts. There were very few people walking around the area visiting the few businesses that were still open. Reopening the street to cars has brought the street back to life and nearly every business has reopened and people have returned to downtown Yuma. While the downtown area is coming back to life, it is still not as busy as other parts of the city. One look at Main Street in Yuma, either in person or on an aerial map, will reveal how wide the street once was. Today the street is lined with extremely wide sidewalks, grassy strips in front of the stores and large concrete boxes that are filled with desert plants or trees. In addition, there is angled parking on both sides of the street. Main Street has been reduced to a single lane of traffic each direction and that is all it needs, since the majority of the city has spread southward and westward from here.
East Harold Giss Parkway and some on North Penitentiary Avenue and these traffic lights control traffic flow across a one way bridge. I will write about that bridge soon. It is one of the oldest automobile bridges in the western part of the United States. For the most part, traffic is very light in downtown Yuma and the streets are narrow. There are alot of adobe buildings. The entire town of Yuma was completely built out of adobe in the early years, but the adobe buildings would melt away during floods, since the town was located at the confluence of two rivers. The principal street of Yuma in the town's early years was Main Street. Main Street is still the heart of downtown Yuma, but is no longer the city's primary business street. In the early days of Yuma, Main Street was one of the widest streets in the United States. It was so wide that a team of horses pulling a buggy could turn completely around in the street. The street remained this wide through the early days of the automobile, but eventually, the growth in Yuma shifted away from downtown and, in 1969, a two block stretch of South Main Street was closed and turned into a pedestrian mall. It was thought at the time that eliminating vehicles from the street and allowing people to visit the stores without having to watch for traffic would revitalize the downtown area, but, as in most cases around the country, this pedestrian mall failed miserably.
The two block stretch of South Main Street between Second Street and Harold Giss Parkway was reopened to motorized traffic in 2002. I remember seeing South Main Street when it was a pedestrian mall. Most of the businesses had closed and the former street was lined with vacant storefronts. There were very few people walking around the area visiting the few businesses that were still open. Reopening the street to cars has brought the street back to life and nearly every business has reopened and people have returned to downtown Yuma. While the downtown area is coming back to life, it is still not as busy as other parts of the city. One look at Main Street in Yuma, either in person or on an aerial map, will reveal how wide the street once was. Today the street is lined with extremely wide sidewalks, grassy strips in front of the stores and large concrete boxes that are filled with desert plants or trees. In addition, there is angled parking on both sides of the street. Main Street has been reduced to a single lane of traffic each direction and that is all it needs, since the majority of the city has spread southward and westward from here.
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