Navajo Bridges

Arizona
Grand Canyon
May 2001

The Navajo Bridges

We had seen these bridges before, having crossed the second one on our bus ride from Flagstaff, just an hour before. The original Navajo Bridge, obsoleted Lee's Ferry as a way to cross the Colorado River in the 1930s. Of course, the crossing at Lee's Ferry looks easy today but -

there was a time when the crossing was dangerous to say the least, with occasional fatalities. Today, the waters of the Colorado are controlled by the Glen Canyon Dam, which forms Lake Powell.

The original Navajo Bridge, provided a transportation link to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and today, the second bridge is part of Arizona 89A and continues to serve that same purpose. The original bridge was one lane, necessitating one way traffic. The current bridge supports two way traffic.