By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

Travelers along State Route 89 south of Ash Fork will see the bridge over Meath Wash come down as crews begin the six-month process of a removing the old structure and replacing it with a cast-in-place, two-span bridge.

The original bridge dates back to 1932 and was widened in 1947.

The replacement bridge will look like the existing one with a few small differences, such as the spans being longer and the shoulders slightly wider. Crews will also reconstruct and re-stripe the approaches to the bridge to improve sight distance because of heavy traffic in the area from a cement plant.

A detour will direct traffic around the closed bridge. Motorists should expect delays in the area while the work progresses.

The bridge itself is expected to be closed for six months, though the overall project, which started at the end of January, is scheduled to last into October.

You can check out more information about the project, and subscribe for emailed updates, at its page on our website.

By Peter Corbett / ADOT Communications

Arizona photographer James Cowlin went searching for landscapes to photograph a decade ago only to discover a passion for the terrain along US 89 looking through his windshield and viewfinder. Cowlin, 73, hit the road in 2007 to explore Route 89 from Mexico across Arizona all the way to the Canadian border.

He came home to Arizona with impressive images and became an advocate of the 2,000-mile highway, launching the US 89 Appreciation Society with a blog and website:

“It’s easy on the eyes,” he said of scenery along 89 that ranges from the Grand Canyon to Grand Tetons and five other national parks and a dozen national monuments.

National Geographic Traveler named US 89 one of its Top 10 Drivers’ Drives in the world in 2010. Cowlin and his wife Barbara, a painter, ventured on a handful of trips on 89, including a border to border to border journey over 32 days covering about 5,000 miles. They camped in a teardrop trailer.

“I love long road trips,” he said.

Cowlin has logged 25,000 miles on Route 89.

Home is now in Oracle, north of Tucson. Cowlin spent 35 years in Phoenix as a commercial photographer. The Cowlins live a few miles from State Route 77, previously designated as US 89.

Highway 89 is all over the map in Arizona.

There are five current sections of 89 with different highway designations – state, federal and alternate routes – SR 89, SR 89A, US 89, US 89A and SR 89S for a spur route. Interstate 19 replaced an original section of US 89 from the Mexican border at Nogales to Tucson.

“I call it the Main Street of Arizona,” Cowlin said of 89. “It connects all these towns across the state.”

US 89 was an early north-south route across Arizona in 1926 when a uniform highway numbering system was established. The Grand Canyon-Nogales Highway south of Tucson was US 380 and the road between Phoenix and Ash Fork was tagged US 280. Later they were renamed US 89 along with a new section from Flagstaff to Fredonia.

Long before interstates, 89 connected Nogales, Tucson, Florence, Mesa, Phoenix, Wickenburg, Congress, Yarnell, Prescott and Ash Fork. It then ran along Route 66 to Flagstaff before turning north to Cameron, Marble Canyon and Fredonia near the Utah border.

Arizona historian Marshall Trimble, who grew up in Ash Fork where 89 intersects with Route 66, recalled his first rough ride in a 1936 Ford on 89, also known then as the White Spar Highway to Prescott.

“Back then, Yarnell Hill was a real bucking bronco,” he said of the steep switchbacks up the Weaver Mountains. “Now it’s like a kid’s pony.”

SR 89 hasn’t changed much between Prescott and Ash Fork except for the road cut through Granite Dells north of Prescott is wider and Hell Canyon has been tamed, first with a 1954 bridge and new bridge last year. Plus, there’s far less traffic, Trimble said.

Interstate 17 and US 93 take much of the north-south traffic that formerly traveled on 89.

Cowlin said Route 89 allows for slower travel and sightseeing as an uncrowded two-lane highway that follows river valleys and the contours of the land.

“It’s kind of a natural road in that sense,” he said.

Cowlin said he discovered Route 89 while poring over maps looking for a landscape photo project to shoot and seeing a line of national parks stretching across the West from north to south.

“US 89 came to be by happenstance,” he said. “Nobody ever said let’s build a road from Glacier to Saguaro National Park. It just happened that way.”

The best time of year to travel the northern stretch of US 89 is mid- to late summer because some of the roads in Glacier National Park are snowbound well into June, Cowlin said.

“89 in Arizona and Utah you can do all year long, but spring or late fall are the best times.”

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications
The number 89 is prominent in Arizona’s highway system. There's a State Route 89, US 89, State Route 89A and US 89A. There was even a US 89T (T stands for temporary) recently while US 89 to Page was being reconstructed.

While there may not be a significance to the actual number, we do know US 89 was the first north-south highway to cross the state. Here’s where it gets complicated. The first north-south US 89 that traversed Arizona isn't where the current US 89 is located. In 1992, US 89 south of Flagstaff was decommissioned. Today, the portion through central Arizona is called SR 89 and connects Wickenburg, Prescott and Ash Fork. This section has also been designated as a historic highway.

Highway 89 was built in segments, starting in southern Arizona in the 1910s. The highway was built for stagecoaches, buggies and freight wagons. In the 1920s, the roadway expanded into central Arizona, followed by northern Arizona in the 1930s. Eventually this route was graveled and modified. Some spots even had modified shoulders for utility lines. Busier segments were covered with asphalt or concrete, suitable for automobiles and trucks.

When US 89 was officially designated in 1927, it was part of a federal government plan to create a continuous road from the Mexico border to Canada. In 1938, the finished highway spanned 1,600 miles, starting in Nogales, Arizona, and ending in Piegan, Montana. In Arizona, only sections of the original roadway remain part of the state highway system.

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications

Last week, what remained of the old Hell Canyon Bridge on State Route 89 went out with a bang.

The 62-year-old bridge, which no longer met federal and state standards for truck traffic, came down in a blast of explosives that caused the structure to fall in on itself.

ADOT opened a new, $14.4 million bridge in June. It has wider lanes and shoulders that allow it to better accommodate truck traffic and oversized loads.

The new Hell Canyon Bridge, located about 18 miles north of Chino Valley between Prescott and Ash Fork, carries about 3,400 vehicles each day.

End your week with a bang by checking out our video of the demolition.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

A new State Route 89 Hell Canyon Bridge is in the works north of Chino Valley. While the name often leads to a few jokes, we promise the bridge will have heavenly features. The slideshow above shows how crews have been working to complete the bridge.

On Friday, May 13, SR 89 will close for the deck pour from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Saturday. Drivers need to plan ahead because the road will be closed in both directions.

The $14.4 million project will replace the existing 1954 bridge with a 665-foot, four-span steel-plate girder bridge. It's located east of the existing bridge and will be approximately 47 feet wide, 17 feet wider than the current bridge. The bridge will be able to handle heavier loads, ensuring that commercial trucks can conveniently carry goods and produce to their final destinations.

Check out the time-lapse of the bridge girders going up.