First Avenue Bridge in Barstow scheduled to be torn down

The historic First Avenue Bridge in Barstow, California, that leads to the Harvey House and one of its tenants, the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, will be demolished after a new bridge is built because it’s a liability to the city.

If the old bridge fell onto the BNSF railroad tracks, the railroad could bill the city $30,000 to $40,000 an hour for impeding traffic.

The Victorville Daily Press reported that the news of the forthcoming teardown from a city commission meeting:

City Engineer Brad Merrell said the First Avenue Bridge — built in the early 1930s — is currently being shored up with falsework and, though safe, should be removed once the new one is up. […]
The city is planning to replace three separate and aging bridges on First Avenue with the other two northwest of the railroad bridge: one spanning the Mojave River and one over the river’s overflow near Irwin Road.
The replacement of the railroad bridge will come first, however, with an estimated price tag of $64 million.

The city planned as long as eight years ago to replace the “functionally obsolete” span. Work to replace it could begin as soon as October and be completed in 2024. The new bridge will be parallel to the old.

Once built, the new bridge will feature a wider curve, shoulders for disabled vehicles, and an 8-foot pedestrian sidewalk with guardrails and lighting. Officials also plan to add design elements and street lamps similar those seen at the Harvey House.

According to data collected on Bridgehunter.com, the span is more than 1,100 feet long. According to inspections in 2018, its overall condition was listed as poor, with a sufficiency rating of 32.7 out of 100. It gets 14,000 vehicles a day.

Though not on Route 66, the bridge is traveled by many Mother Road enthusiasts because they want to visit the Route 66 Mother Road Museum housed inside Casa del Desierto, a Harvey House built in 1911. The museum remains closed, however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Image of a BNSF train rolling under the First Avenue Bridge in Barstow, California, by yankee artellerist via Flickr)