Thousands of visitors and residents cross over the scenic Midgley Bridge every day without giving it a second thought. But travel along that route wasn’t always so easy.

Wednesday, Oct. 8, will mark the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the 374-foot-long bridge, which was completed in late 1939.

Excavation of the canyon walls for foundation placement began in March 1938. Named after area cattle rancher W.W. Midgley [March 17, 1872—Dec. 6, 1949], the steel bridge structure was completed Oct. 31, 1938 and the bridge was fully completed in 1939. Midgley Bridge has carried traffic on State Route 89A ever since.

Michael Amundson, a professor of history at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, said he came across the anniversary of the bridge by accident. For years he had noticed a small plaque by the bridge but never stopped to see what it said. One day he did and it said it was dedicated on Oct. 8, 1939, to all of those who helped fund, build and open the bridge.

“At that time, it was the main route between Flagstaff and Phoenix since it was long before Interstate 17 was constructed,” he said. “Coming from Phoenix you go through Wickenburg to Prescott, down through Jerome and Cottonwood to Sedona and then on to Flagstaff.”

He said before the bridge was completed, motorists would make a 90-degree turn and go about a quarter-mile back into Bear Canyon, cross a small, narrow bridge and then make another 90-degree turn when exiting the canyon.

“The bridge really evened out the landscape to make it more conducive to traffic,” Amundson said. “It helped open up tourism for Sedona and Oak Creek to a much wider audience than it had ever had before.”

By all accounts W.W. Midgley was humbled, proud and thankful for the naming of a bridge after him. It is indeed very rare for any man-made landmark to be named for a living person. Midgley helped organize the dedication ceremony and delivered a short but sweet speech. A typewritten copy of his speech is on file in the NAU Cline Library Special Collections. (Call #: AHS.ND.854)

“I am touched by your generous expressions of friendship and am deeply appreciative of the honor you have bestowed upon me in naming this magnificent structure the Midgley Bridge.

W.W. Midgley’s speech at the Oc.t 8, 1939, dedication

“I am sure, however, you will not think me ungrateful when I say to you that my greatest satisfaction in the completion of this bridge and the beautiful highway of which it is a part, lies not in the glorification of Midgley, but rather in the fact that they are the realization of a dream — your dream and mine — and the dream of those sturdy pioneers of Coconino and Yavapai, who started the work we have finished.

“Those early settlers were made of the stuff that heroes are made of. It was their love of the beauties of nature and the handiwork of God, their vision, their untiring energy and their sacrifices that make accessible to us and to future generations this marvelous canyon of enchantment.

“Without a survey, and with the crudest of tools, they mapped their course and left for us trails and roads that challenged the skill of the engineers and the accuracy of the chain and transit.

“They pointed the way, and the [Arizona State] Highway Department and the boosters of 79 have carried on. This bridge closes the last gap in the highway that has already obliterated the boundary between our counties and brought us closer together in a sincere and lasting friendship. It has made Arizona’s wonderland easily accessible to the people north of us and to the south of us.

“To my mind, it is destined to become one of the most popular highways in Arizona, and I hope to live to see the day when it is a part of a great International Highway serving all of the countries of the North America Continent.

“In closing, may I say again I appreciate your expressions of friendship. I see before me many of my old neighbors and associates. Their friends has been test and I know it is sincere. And I want you to know that I cherish that friendship and value it higher than all the worldly good I can ever hope to acquire.”

Courtesy of Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library, Special Collections. Call No. AHS.ND.854

To read the full story, see the Friday, Oct. 3, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.