Fish Creek Bridge: A small piece of nearly timeless history

The Superstition Mountains are home to some of the most beautiful scenery in Arizona. Craggy red cliffs are everywhere; a timeless silence pervades the landscape. Some rock formations and vegetation look like they haven’t changed since time began. Winding through this picturesque landscape is State Route 88 (Apache Trail). 

Located about nine miles east of Tortilla Flat, nestled among stunning cliffs, you’ll find a small but mighty gem: the Fish Creek Bridge.

This bridge owes its existence to construction of the nearby Mormon Flat Dam. In 1922, the Arizona Highway Department, ADOT’s predecessor, did extensive reconstruction of State Route 88 due to the dam’s construction. Part of that reconstruction was building five bridges, including the Fish Creek Bridge. In 1923, bridge components were shipped by rail to Mesa from Kansas. Construction began in July 1923, the bridge was opened to traffic December of that same year and has been carrying foot and vehicle traffic ever since.

This one-lane bridge with a concrete deck is an example of a very common bridge structure, the Warren pony truss. This type of bridge has a series of equilateral triangles that help distribute loads evenly across the structure.

Although Fish Creek Bridge is a rather common structural type found throughout Arizona, it’s one of the best-preserved examples of the Warren pony truss and has operated essentially unchanged for more than a century.