Rio Puerco Bridge
- Historic bridge
- Near Albuquerque, New Mexico
- On Route 66
- National Register of Historic Places
The Rio Puerco Bridge is a steel Parker through truss built in 1933 to carry the highway over the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque, NM. Its single 250-foot span made it one of the longest steel truss spans built in New Mexico. It carried Route 66 from 1937 and later frontage-road traffic until a new bridge replaced it in 1999. Closed to cars, it is open on foot just off Interstate 40 at exit 140.
What is Rio Puerco Bridge?
A Parker truss is a through truss whose top chord rises in a series of angled segments, giving the frame a gently arched outline; cars drove inside the steel framework rather than on top of it. Here the single span is made of ten 25-foot panels carrying a 25-foot-wide deck.
The design was chosen for a reason. The Rio Puerco floods hard and eats away its banks, and one long span meant no pier in the middle of the channel that a flood could undermine. The design came from the Kansas City Structural Steel Company, and the building work was supervised by F.D. Shufflebarger.
History of Rio Puerco Bridge
Federal emergency highway money paid for the bridge in 1933, during the Depression, and it was finished within a year. It opened the Laguna Cutoff, a straighter route heading west from Albuquerque. In 1937 that cutoff officially became U.S. Route 66, replacing the older loop through Santa Fe.
In 1957 the bridge was remodeled for taller loads: the low struts at each portal were swapped for lighter ones set higher, and metal guardrails were added to shield the steel. After Interstate 40 opened, the bridge served a frontage road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, and in 1999 the state highway department built a new bridge beside it and kept the old truss standing.
Visiting Rio Puerco Bridge: tips
Take I-40 exit 140, park near the old road and walk out onto the bridge to see the steel up close; allow 15 to 20 minutes. Services are close: the 66 Pit Stop for fuel and Laguna Burger for food are each about 0.2 miles away, the Route 66 Travel Center with restrooms is about half a mile, and the Route 66 Hotel and Casino about 0.7 miles. East of the bridge, the frontage road follows the old route and rejoins I-40 at exit 149. Petroglyph National Monument is about 12 miles away.
Practical info
- On site & nearby
Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix
Where to eat near Rio Puerco Bridge
All diners on Route 66 →On the map
Full mapRio Puerco Bridge with the 6 closest stops and a place to eat (fork and knife). Tap a marker for details.
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Stops near Rio Puerco Bridge
All of New Mexico11.7 mi from Rio Puerco Bridge
12.4 mi from Rio Puerco Bridge
14.0 mi from Rio Puerco Bridge
14.3 mi from Rio Puerco Bridge
15.3 mi from Rio Puerco Bridge
15.6 mi from Rio Puerco Bridge
Questions about Rio Puerco Bridge
Can you walk on the Rio Puerco Bridge?
Yes. The old truss has been closed to cars since a new bridge was built beside it in 1999, but people on foot can walk across it. It is a short, easy stop: park near the end of the bridge and allow about 15 to 20 minutes to look at the steelwork.
Where is the Rio Puerco Bridge?
It crosses the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, just off Interstate 40 at exit 140, close to the Route 66 Travel Center and the Route 66 Hotel and Casino. The frontage road east of the bridge follows the old highway and rejoins I-40 at exit 149.
When was the Rio Puerco Bridge built?
It was built in 1933 with federal emergency highway funds and finished within a year. The road it served became U.S. Route 66 in 1937. The bridge was remodeled in 1957, listed on the National Register in 1997, and retired from traffic in 1999.
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