The Theodore Roosevelt Lake Bridge is a vehicular bridge traversing

Theodore Roosevelt Lake Theodore Roosevelt Lake (usually called Roosevelt Lake, sometimes Lake Roosevelt) is a large reservoir formed by Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River (Arizona), Salt River in Arizona as part of the Salt River Project (SRP). Located roughly 8 ...

between

Gila County 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 ...

and

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Prior to its completion, traffic on Arizona SR 188 traveled directly on top of the Theodore Roosevelt Lake

Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

. The bridge's completion helped relieve traffic off of the dam; it was originally designed to accommodate the width of two Ford Model-T automobiles, but increasing vehicle widths meant that the dam could only support one-way traffic at the time the bridge opened. Per the United States

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

, in 1995, along with other notable bridges such as the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

and

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

, the bridge was listed by the American Consulting Engineers Council as one of top twelve bridges designs in the United States, and is currently the "longest two-lane, single-

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

, steel-arch bridge in North America". The build contract was awarded to Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc. of

Plain, Wisconsin Plain is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 773 at the 2010 census. Geography Plain is located at (43.277580, -90.044563). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , a ...

, with an overall total cost of $21.3 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

in 1992. It was initially painted

sky blue Sky blue is a shade of light blue comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay's 1576 ''Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie'' in ...

, but has since turned white.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodore Roosevelt Lake Bridge) Bridges completed in 1992 Landmarks in Arizona Road bridges in Arizona Tied arch bridges in the United States 1992 establishments in Arizona Buildings and structures in Gila County, Arizona Transportation buildings and structures in Maricopa County, Arizona