Hell Canyon Bridge: It’s Huge!

Bridges of all sizes dot Arizona’s highways. Some are small single-lane structures that one could miss if they blinked. Others awe with their sheer size. The Hell Canyon Bridge on US 89 is one of these latter ones.

The bridge, located about 18 miles north of Chino Valley, is 665 feet long, about 47 feet wide and has four-span steel-plate girders. The deck, which carries commercial traffic of all kinds, is supported by massive concrete pedestals that soar about 250 feet above Hell Canyon. In addition to some lovely scenery, travelers will also find the Upper Verde River Wildlife Area nearby.

When the Hell Canyon Bridge was built in 1951, the distance between the bridge and riverbed was too great for traditional construction methods. A cantilever truss was used instead. This features a horizontal beam that is supported on one end and projects outward. That eliminates the need for center scaffolding during construction, which could not be used, and also allows construction from both ends.

That’s when ADOT’s predecessor, the Arizona Highway Department, divided the project into three efforts. First came the substructure (concrete pedestals and footings) in March 1952. The steel structure followed in September 1952. Finally, the deck and guardrails were added in November 1953. In 1954, the Hell Canyon Bridge opened to traffic for a total cost of almost $325,000.

The Hell Canyon Bridge was a great example of the 1940s and 1950s large-scale bridges Arizona built (another example is the Navajo Bridge). With its clean proportions, the bridge was among the nicest-looking steel spans of the era.

In 2016, the Hell Canyon Bridge was replaced with a new structure. The old bridge was taken down via demolition in September 2016; you can see a video of that demolition here.