Skip to main content

Arizona State Route 95 Truck

By


Arizona State Route 95 Truck is a 0.85-mile-long spur of Arizona State Route 95 located in Parker.  Arizona State Route 95 Truck follows California Avenue north of Riverside Drive to California State Route 62 at the Colorado River Bridge.  What is now Arizona State Route 95 Truck was originally a ferry crossing of the Colorado River and later part of Arizona State Route 72.  The Colorado River in Parker was bridged by a pontoon highway crossing during late 1935 with a permanent span being completed during 1937.  Arizona State Route 95 Truck was created in 1962 when the mainline highway was extended north of Parker.  The current Colorado River Bridge carrying Arizona State Route 95 Truck and California State Route 62 opened during 2014.  Featured as the blog cover is the 1937 Colorado River Bridge when it was part of Arizona State Route 72. 




Part 1; the history of Arizona State Route 95 Truck

In 1908 Parker was established in what was then Yuma County as a siding of the Arizona & California Railway.  Parker was named in honor of Ely S. Parker who had been Commissioner of Indian Affairs under the Presidency of Ulysses Grant.  The Arizona & California Railway was originally a short line subdivision of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Railway.   The Arizona & California Railway originated in Cadiz, California and ended at Matthie siding near Wickenburg.  The Arizona & California Railway crossed the Colorado River via a truss span which still stands in Parker.  

Originally no highway service existed from Parker over the Colorado River into California.  This changed during May 1915 when ferry service was established in Parker via a paddle-wheel ship known as the "Iola." 

What is now Arizona State Route 95 Truck was commissioned into the Arizona State Highway System as a component of Arizona State Route 72 in the early 1930s.  Arizona State Route 72 as originally began at US Route 60 at Hope and ended at the Colorado River Ferry in Parker.  Arizona State Route 72 can be seen in detail between Hope-Parker on the 1935 State Highway Department Map of Arizona.  


During December 1935 a pontoon bridge crossing the Colorado River in Parker was erected.  This pontoon structure was made possible due to the upstream Hoover Dam slowing the currents of the Colorado River.  The Colorado River Pontoon Bridge was located at the western terminus of Arizona State Route 72.  The Colorado River Pontoon Bridge can be seen from Parker in a University of California hosted photo.  


The pontoon bridge at the Colorado River was intended to be a temporary crossing until a permanent structure could be built.  The October 1937 Arizona Highways features the completed Colorado River Bridge in Parker.  The article stub notes the Colorado River Bridge to be located at the western terminus of Arizona State Route 72.  The Colorado River Bridge was constructed with funds via State appropriations and from the Bureau of Public Roads.  The paved highway on the California side of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County was constructed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California as part of the Colorado River Aqueduct project.  




The completed Colorado River Bridge in Parker can be seen on the 1938 Sinclair Map of Arizona.


Parker would incorporate as a town during 1948.  During the early 1960s Arizona State Route 95 had been straightened directly north of Quartzsite.  During 1962 Arizona State Route 95 was extended and replaced Arizona State Route 172 north of Parker.  Subsequently Arizona State Route 72 was truncated to a junction with Arizona State Route 95 in the southern outskirts of Parker.  The Colorado River Bridge in Parker and California Avenue north of Riverside Drive were reassigned as Arizona State Route 95 Truck.  

1970 California Legislative Chapter 1473 extended California State Route 62 from Twentynine Palms east to the Colorado River Bridge at the Arizona state line.  The California Division of Highways assumed maintenance of the existing Aqueduct Road which connected US Route 95 at Vidal Junction to The Colorado River Bridge.  California State Route 62 can be seen terminating at the Colorado River Bridge near Parker on the 1975 Caltrans Map.  


Parker became the seat of the newly created La Paz County on January 1, 1983.  On April 12, 2010, the Metropolitan Water District received an application from Caltrans and the Arizona Department of Transportation to replace the Colorado River Bridge.  The stream under the Colorado River Bridge is noted to have dropped twenty feet which led to the loss of lateral support and embedment in the structure pilings.  


The current Colorado River Bridge opened during 2014 and was dedicated on October 1st of said year.  The current Colorado River Bridge can be seen in a YouTube video by BigRiver Drone.  The 1937 Colorado River Bridge was demolished following the opening of the current span.  


Part 2; a drive on Arizona State Route 95 Truck

From the community of Earp in San Bernardino County eastbound California State Route 62 makes a right-hand turn from Aqueduct Road towards the Colorado River Bridge. 

California State Route 62 eastbound crosses under the 1908 Arizona & California Railway Bridge to a terminus at the foot of the Colorado River Bridge.  The 1908 Arizona & California Railway Bridge partially burned during September 2019, but the structure did not fail.  The Arizona & California Railway came under the ownership of RailAmerica during 2012.  





California Avenue crosses the Colorado River Bridge and becomes Arizona State Route 95 Truck.  An Arizona State Route 95 Truck shield can be found as the highway enters Parker.  



Arizona State Route 95 Truck follows California Avenue to a terminus at mainline Arizona State Route 95 at Riverside Drive.







From northbound Arizona State Route 95 a guide sign denotes Arizona State Route 95 Truck as "To California State Route 62."

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more