Murrieta's Washington Street Bridge | The History

The Washington Avenue Bridge, located near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Brown Street, was the oldest surviving bridge in Murrieta. The bridge was built seventy-nine years ago and survived multiple floods. On May 17, 2018, the new Guava Street Bridge south of Washington Avenue was officially opened. This new bridge was constructed to replace the obsolete Washington Avenue Bridge. On June 4th, a wrecking crew descended on the old bridge and began removing the structure.

The Inland Highway, the precursor to Highway 395, was paved to the San Diego County line by December 1915. The highway was routed south down Washington Avenue and then turned east on Ivy

Avenue. It then traveled south along Jefferson Avenue to Temecula. One reason the highway commission shifted the highway from The Washington Avenue Bridge (Photo by author, October 9, 2011) Washington to Jefferson was because of the Washington Avenue Bridge. By avoiding this

creek crossing, the commission eliminated future bridge construction and maintenance costs.

The Washington Avenue Bridge spanned the Murrieta Creek and was first constructed of wood. A devastating winter storm hit the region in early 1916. The Temecula town site was flooded and the Washington Avenue Bridge was washed away by the floodwaters. The extensive storm damage

throughout the county delayed rebuilding the bridge for about four years.

When county funding became available in 1920, Murrieta residents hoped that the county would construct a cement bridge at the Washington crossing. Unfortunately, the county quickly installed another wood bridge in early 1921. Residents knew that the new bridge would not survive another flood, and began to wonder if county officials would ever recognize the need for a permanent structure.

In 1938, a winter flood swept away the Washington Avenue Bridge. The city of Riverside also suffered devastating losses when floodwaters roared down the Santa Ana River. During this time there

were many government programs available because of the Great Depression. Riverside officials planned to go to Sacramento to request emergency funding. Representatives from Temecula and Murrieta scrambled to Riverside and added their towns’ needs to the county’s list.

The government approved a special state emergency appropriation for Riverside County. Projects were then organized to begin the rebuilding process. Tucked in that financial packet was $10,000 allocated for

the construction of a cement bridge on Washington Avenue. County Surveyor A. C. Fulmor submitted the bridge plans to the Board of Supervisors who then approved its design on April 17, 1939.

The bridge was 169 feet long, 28 feet wide, with 24 feet of road surface. Three piers were to be installed in the creek bed to support the bridge span. It was realigned from its original position in order to provide a shorter distance across the creek thus reducing the cost. Fifteen contractors placed bids

for the bridge construction project. T. C. Prichard, a Riverside contractor, was the lowest bidder

at $8,678.30, and he was awarded the contract.

The bridge was completed by the first week in October, but there was no public access to it because the new approaches to the bridge were not completed. The realignment of Washington Avenue was a separate construction project. Three acres were condemned to create the approach to the bridge. Washington Avenue would be curved north of Brown Street in order to align with the completed bridge. The county road department began work on the realigned approaches at the end of August and completed the project by the end of October.

The new Washington Avenue Bridge was opened to the public in November 1939. Murrieta residents rejoiced because they knew that the bridge was strong enough to face the seasonal flood waters. The bridge withstood many more floods including the Flood of 1978. However, the B Street Bridge further north was swept away by floodwaters during that time. The Washington Avenue Bridge also survived the

Flood of 1993, which flooded the historic districts of Temecula and Murrieta.

Sadly though, the bridge’s design helped create flooding upstream. The pylons that were installed in the creek bed to support the bridge collected debris during the floods which created a makeshift dam. Water would then backup at the bridge, causing flooding further north.

In Temecula, the 1945 Main Street Bridge had an identical design to the Washington Avenue Bridge. The Main Street Bridge was replaced by a free-span steel trestle bridge in 2014. The new design removed the pylons from the creek bed, eliminating the potential of collecting debris.

When the new Guava Street Bridge in Murrieta was constructed in 2018, it too was a free-span bridge with no pylons. The bridge construction project cost $7.2 million. With the removal of the Washington

Avenue Bridge and its pylons, the creek’s waters will flow south unobstructed to the Santa Margarita River.

Now that the Washington Avenue Bridge has been removed, the oldest surviving bridge in Murrieta is the B Street Bridge built in 1978. However, this bridge has pylons embedded in the creek and will have to be replaced sometime in the future.

The Historical Society and Murrieta residents mourn the loss of the historic Washington Avenue Bridge. The preservation of life and property supersedes historic preservation. Fortunately, the City of Murrieta

was able to preserve the bridge’s date stamps which were donated to the Murrieta History Museum. A piece of the old bridge will live on in order to preserve the stories it has carried for seventy-nine years.