The Black River Bridge near

Carrizo, Arizona Carrizo ( apw, Gaadisóh) is a census-designated place in Gila County, Arizona, United States, located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. The community's name is Spanish for "reeds" and is likely derived from the Carrizo band of Apache. His ...

was funded in 1911 and built in 1912. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988. It spans the Black River, bringing an army road, now Indian Route 9, over the river from Fort Apache to the railroad at the former town of Rice, Arizona (which is now within San Carlos, Arizona). Indian Route 9 is one of many Indian routes within Native American reservations in the U.S. The bridge, designated

ADOT The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's highway system, the agency is also involved with pu ...

#3128, is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. It crosses from the Fort Apache Reservation south into the

San Carlos Reservation The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed f ...

, within in

Gila County, Arizona Gila County ( ) is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe. Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Gila County contains p ...

. It is a deck truss bridge which was fabricated by the

Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co. The Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company (originally the Des Moines Bridge and Iron Company), and often referred to as Pitt-Des Moines Steel or PDM was an American steel fabrication company. It operated from 1892 until approximately 2002 when it ...

It has three

Warren truss Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Governm ...

riveted steel spans, each in length, achieving a total length of . The roadway is a concrete deck that is wide. The bridge has concrete

abutments An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

and wingwalls and solid concrete piers. It has a concrete deck over steel stringers. The original bridge on those piers was designed by Arizona Territorial Engineer G.B. Girand and was completed in 1912 as a timber/iron

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

for wagons, employing Howe trusses; the superstructure was replaced by the current steel and concrete system in 1929. It was deemed significant as one of the earliest public works projects by the Arizona Territorial government, and the only timber bridge that it built. With Further, the 1929-built superstructure "is technologically significant as the oldest of the four multi-span deck trussed trestles" identified in a 1986–87 inventory/study of historic Arizona highway bridges performed for the

Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's state highways, highway system, the agency is also i ...

by Clayton Fraser, covering 610 pre-1945 vehicular bridges. () According to Fraser, the bridge is "one of the most visually striking spans in Arizona" and "represents an important aspect of the state's bridgebuilding history." A 2002 photo of the bridge is included in a 2008-updated report on Arizona's historic highway bridges. A 2002 photo of the Black River Bridge is included as Figure 3 on page 24.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Howe truss bridges in the United States Warren truss bridges in the United States Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Gila County, Arizona Bridges completed in 1912 Bridges completed in 1929

See also

References