The Bridge In The Middle Of Nowhere

Photos taken April 2008

This is a trestle bridge near Greer, Arizona.  From what I understand, this is the path of a logging railroad that once ran through here.  I can tell you with certainty though, visiting in early April yields high winds and freezing temperatures.

 

The path of the railroad has been converted into a hiking path/forest road.  Obviously, the bridge was constructed for foot traffic only, but it's a pretty neat reminder of what once ran through here. 

London Bridge

I pulled the following from Wikipedia:

The 1831 London Bridge was the last project of engineer John Rennie and completed by his son, also named John Rennie. By 1962, the bridge was not structurally sound enough to support the increased load created by the level of modern traffic crossing it, and it was sold by the City of London.

The purchaser, Robert McCulloch, was the founder of Lake Havasu and the chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation. McCulloch purchased the bridge to serve as a tourist attraction to his retirement real estate development at Lake Havasu City, which at that time was far off the usual tourist track. The idea was successful, bringing interested tourists and retirement home buyers to the area.

After relocation to America, the bridge was reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, a developed community on the east shore of Lake Havasu, a large reservoir on the Colorado River. The bridge was not reconstructed over a river, but rather it was rebuilt on land in a position between the main part of the city and Pittsburgh Point, at that time a peninsula jutting into Lake Havasu. Once completed, the Bridgewater Channel Canal was dredged under the bridge and flooded, separating Pittsburgh Point from the city creating an island. The bridge thus now traverses a navigable shortcut between the Thompson Bay part of Lake Havasu south of Pittsburgh Point, and the rest of Lake Havasu to the north.

The bridge facing stones were carefully disassembled and each piece was numbered. After the bridge was dismantled it was transported to Merrivale Quarry where 15 to 20 cm was sliced off many of the original stones. These were shipped to the bridge's present location and re-assembly began in 1968. The original stone was used to clad a concrete structure, so that the bridge is no longer the original after which it is modeled. The reconstruction took slightly over three years and was completed in late 1971. Today, it serves as a popular tourist attraction for the city.

Recent years have seen a large amount of development in the area of the bridge to increase tourist interest. The original "English Village", a quaint English-style open air mall with hedge maze and historical museum, has deteriorated, with sections leveled.

As you can see in the photo below, which shows supports under the road deck, that each one is numbered as described above.

For some reason, we always seem to go to Lake Havasu City in the middle of summer.  The average temperature during the summer there is about 3 million degrees.  Walking down along the channel where the bridge is, you get the extra added benefit of humidity.  If you can get past the lack of comfort, the area does afford a neat walk.  Did I mention it's really dark, not very populated, and you can't help but feel like Jack The Ripper is stalking you?