The City of Barstow, California, is hosting a special walk tomorrow over the historic North First Avenue Bridge before it is demolished and makes way for a new bridge in the coming weeks.
The special walk will be at 9 a.m. local time Wednesday, according to an announcement from the city. The old bridge also will be available to walk from 2 to 8 p.m. that day.
The prospect of walking across the old span in 115-degree weather during the afternoon may not be enticing to some, however.
Replacing the old bridge was a project between the city and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
The 1,000-foot-long bridge, built about 1930, received a bridge sufficiency rating of 3 of 100 more than a decade ago. The bridge was deemed deficient in its superstructure, substructure and overall structural evaluation and considered functionally obsolete due to its geometry and substandard vertical clearance.
Also, if the old bridge fell onto the railroad tracks, the railroad could have billed the city $30,000 to $40,000 an hour for impeding traffic.
The historic First Avenue Bridge leads to a 1911 Harvey House and one of its tenants, the Route 66 Mother Road Museum.
(Image of a BNSF train rolling under the First Avenue Bridge in Barstow, California, by yankee artellerist via Flickr)