Utah's Bridges: State Route 276 over North Wash in Garfield County

May 2006 (38.02472, -110.57667) SR-276 over North Wash Bridge

I rode south past Hanksville and onto State Route 95 towards Hite. At the junction of SR-95 and SR-276 there is a little bridge over the North Wash, which is a canyon that descends rapidly towards Lake Powell. State Route 296 continues southwest to the town of Bullfrog.

The National Bridge Inventory reports that the North Wash Bridge is composed of two simple (62 ft long) prestressed, precast I girder spans on a hammerhead pier and seat-type abutments. It was designed for an HS20 loading which seems appropriate for a two-lane road carrying only 500 vehicles (and 35 trucks) a day.

The rounded sides of the pier may have been chosen to provide minimum drag during the flash floods that occasionally pour through this wash. The bridge is stained from the muddy water and the bank protection at the abutments has been eroded.  The bridge was built in 1967 and the bridge inspection reports discuss erosion and scour. 

Utah's Bridges: State Route 276 over North Wash in Garfield County by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Utah's Bridges: State Route 24 at I-70 in Emery County

May 2006 (38.923 Degrees, -110.376 Degrees) State Route 24 Overcrossing

We've left Michigan for Utah: two very different environments, but each with their own kind of beauty. Does the geology of the region detract or enhance the appearance of simple bridge structures?

On May 25th I rode west from the Green River along the shoulder of I-70 (with almost no traffic). After about 13 miles I exited I-70 for State Route 24 at the location of today's bridge.

According to the Ugly Bridges Website, this is a three span continuous steel girder bridge that was built in 1972. It is 381 ft long with a 141 ft long span over I-70. It carries two traffic lanes, has a 40.4 ft width, and provides 16.4 ft vertical clearance over I-70. The girders sit on pier walls with hammerhead caps and seat-type abutments. According to the website, the average daily traffic is only 315 vehicles (as of 2010) and has been moving downward for the last 20 years. Considering all of the dinosaur footprints, petroglyphs, interesting rock formations, state parks, and other amazing things to see and do in the area, I'm surprised there isn't more traffic!

The bridge appears to blend in pretty well with its rugged, arid surroundings. Just beyond the bridge is the San Rafael Reef (or monocline). Pioneers crossing the area would pretend that their wagons were ships traveling across the sea and they called the rocky outcroppings that blocked their path 'reefs.'

Utah's Bridges: State Route 24 at I-70 in Emery County by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Utah's Bridges: Elgin Bridge over the Green River

May 2006 (38.985 Degrees, -110.150 Degrees) Green River Bridge

In May, 2006 I drove to Green River State Park for a five day (400 mile) bike ride around southeastern Utah. The Green River is an oasis in the middle of a vast desert. On the west side of the river is the town of Green River and on the east side is the town of Elgin. Both towns prospered with the coming of the railroad in the 1880s. The grade at Green River is the lowest point on the rails, but it's still almost a mile above sea level. Lying in my sleeping bag at night I could hear the trains crossing the bridge at the southern edge of the campground.

I'm not sure what the first railroad bridge across the Green River was like. However, there are a dozen photos taken by George Edward Anderson of a four span through truss bridge being built around 1900 on the Brigham Young University Library Website. The current Elgin Bridge is a three span Warren truss bridge with the truss panels subdivided with vertical members in order to carry bigger loads. According to The Bridge Hunter, this bridge is composed of three 170 ft spans for a total length of 510 ft. It's only 18 ft wide and sits on masonry piers and seat-type abutments. I couldn't find when the current bridge was built or if they ever moved the tracks. I have a vague memory of the tracks being moved at some point, but maybe I'm confused.

The tracks are owned by the Union Pacific and used by Amtrak's California Zephyr, which takes three days to go from Emeryville, California to Chicago, Illinois. I've taken this trip in a sleeper car and it's a very nice experience.

Utah's Bridges: Elgin Bridge over the Green River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.