Skip to main content

Bridge Monday; the Roosevelt Lake Bridge and Roosevelt Dam

Back in the early 2010s I frequently visited Gila County Arizona.  Often my travel took me up Arizona State Route 88 (usually for fun) and Arizona State Route 188.  The junction of AZ 88 and AZ 188 holds what was two significant bridging structures of Roosevelt Lake; the Roosevelt Dam and Roosevelt Lake Arch Bridge.


AZ 88 is one of the oldest State Highways in Arizona dating back to 1927.  While the highway was originally intended to be signed as AZ 66 the designation of AZ 88 was ultimately chosen due to US 66 being assigned over what was intended to be US 60 in Arizona.  As originally signed AZ 88 stretched from US Route 80 in Apache Junction east to the first US 180 in Globe.  By 1927 Roosevelt Dam was long completed since 1911 as it was the signature structure of the Salt River Project.  Roosevelt Dam was used as a bridging structure from AZ 88 north to the road to Payson.  This 1927 highway map of Arizona shows the location of Roosevelt Dam on the initial alignment of AZ 88.


Construction of Roosevelt Dam began along the Salt River in Gila County by 1903, as stated above the structure was completed by 1911.  Roosevelt Dam and the Salt River Project were part of the 1902 Reclamation Act which paved the way for later more well known public works projects such as the Hoover Dam.  Roosevelt Dam as originally completed was a completely masonry dam and was the largest of it's type at the time.  


According to Arizonaroads.com the route of AZ 188 from AZ 88 at Roosevelt Dam north to Payson was designated in 1958.  At the time the junction of AZ 88 and AZ 188 was at Roosevelt Dam.   AZ 188 can be viewed in it's originally configuration crossing Roosevelt Dam on the 1961 State Highway Map.



In 1989 an expansion project to raise Roosevelt Dam from 280 feet to 357 began.  Said project was to expand Roosevelt Dam via use of a new masonry cover over the original dam structure.  The Roosevelt Dam expansion project required AZ 188 be shifted onto a new bridge over Roosevelt Lake.  The new Roosevelt Lake Arch bridge was completed by 1992 and remains one of the more scenic bridges in Arizona. 


According to Arizonaroads.com AZ 188 was shifted over what was AZ 88 east of Roosevelt Dam to Globe by 2000.  The change was apparently instigated due to a new ADOT policy about having a highway have both terminus points at the same route.  






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River. 

New Mexico State Road 7 (Carlsbad Caverns Highway)

New Mexico State Road 7 is approximately a seven-mile highway in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. New Mexico State Road 7 connects US Route 62/US Route 180 at Whites City to the visitor center of Carlsbad Caverns National Park via Walnut Canyon. The so-called Carlsbad Caverns Highway to the National Park visitor center complex was constructed following the designation of the namesake National Monument in 1923. The current iteration of New Mexico State Road 7 was designated by the New Mexico State Highway Commission during June 1929. A proposal once was once floated to connect New Mexico State Road 7 to a cavern drive which would have been blasted into Big Room. Part 1; the history of New Mexico State Road 7 What are now Carlsbad Caverns was explored in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County by local Jim White during 1898.  White explored the caverns via a homemade ladder and named several of the more notable rooms.  The name "Carlsbad Caverns" was derived from the