Arizona: Querino Canyon Bridge

Querino Canyon Bridge in Houck, AZ

Photo courtesy of Rhys Martin

Quick Facts

Significance:

Historic bridge along Route 66

Designation:

National Register of Historic Places

The Querino Canyon Bridge is picturesquely situated over a rugged and beautiful canyon just outside Houck, Arizona. Designed by the Arizona Highway Department, the bridge is a representative example of early highway truss design: 77 feet long, 20 feet wide, and comprised of a concrete-decked steel trestle with three Pratt deck trusses supported by steel piers. Concrete abutments support the bridge from below and steel lattice guardrails typical of the period line the roadway.

The State built the bridge in 1929 as part of a grand rehabilitation and relocation of Route 66 across northern Arizona. The project included several bridges, drainage construction, and at least 25 miles of roadway. The largest of these multiple efforts, the bridge over Querino Canyon formed an integral link on one of America’s primary arteries.

This section of the highway became a county road during the 1960s after construction of Interstate 40. The Querino Canyon Bridge remains intact, carrying local traffic on Navajo Nation land. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

The Querino Canyon Bridge crosses Querino Canyon 3.8 miles southwest of Houck, AZ as part of Old Highway 66.

See the Querino Canyon Bridge National Register nomination form.