Navajo Bridge
Construction on the bridge over Marble Canyon began in 1927 and was completed in 1929. The bridge was dedicated on June 14-15, 1929 as the Grand Canyon Bridge, but the name of the bridge was challenged from the beginning. Many feared that naming it the Grand Canyon Bridge would prevent travelers from reaching the actual Grand Canyon National Park, believing they had seen the canyon as they drove over the bridge, and being slightly underwhelmed, would keep driving. Heber Grant, then-President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke before a joint session of the Arizona Legislature on March 5, 1929, to request the bridge be named after Jacob Hamlin, or Chief Hastele, or both. He also offered Arizona-Utah Bridge as an option. On May 8, 1929, the Legislature approved changing the bridge to the Hamblin-Hastele Bridge, but the name didn't seem to stick and public opinion wasn't always favorable, with some feeling that the bridge should be called Lees Ferry Bridge after the nearby Lees Ferry that the bridge was essentially replacing. Finally, in a February 1934 meeting of the Arizona Highway Commission, then-Governor Benjamin Moeur proposed that the bridge be named the Navajo Bridge, pending approval by the Secretary of the Interior, the Indian Service, and President Heber Grant. Funds were to be made available for a new plaque with the new bridge name to replace the one with the old name- that plaque is the one on-site today.
RoadUnited States Highway 89ACountyCoconino CountyStateArizonaCountryUnited StatesGeographic Coordinates[1] Feature ClassBridge