Winkelman Bridge - Winkelman, AZ
N 32° 59.088 W 110° 46.342
12S E 521268 N 3649624
The Winkelman Bridge originally carried AZ Hwy. 77 over the Gila River into the center of Winkelman.
Waymark Code: WMZC6A
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 10/17/2018
Views: 1
Winkelman is a copper mining town in central Arizona. Highway 77 passes through it connecting Globe to the north with Tucson to the south. In 1916, when the bridge was constructed Globe and Tucson were the two major cities in Arizona. The bridge is little more than one lane wide, suitable for wagons and early cars. With expanding traffic and car size, the highway was rerouted to the east of town and the bridge was no longer used for through traffic. As mining changed in the area the business district of Winkelman declined to the point where it is now just a few streets of empty shells with no commercial traffic. Cut off from its original artery and demand in its immediate vicinity eliminated the bridge no longer has a purpose. It is now presented as a pedestrian bridge.
It is a Luten arch bridge made of concrete by the Topeka Bridge and Iron Company. On one side are the empty buildings of Winkelman, at the other end a small settlement of trailers accessed from the new highway. The Gila River rolls on underneath.
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