Rubidoux Bridge

A bridge crossing the Santa Ana River between today's Rubidoux and Riverside dates to the 1890s. You might be surprised to learn that the bridge that we use today is over 50 years old and dates to 1958. Rumor has it that the the county is looking into replacing it. Below is a photo of the bridge next to the one it replaced, courtesy of Riverside County Flood Control. Our current bridge is the one on the right.      

Dangerous Bridge

I don't know who has jurisdiction over the Rubidoux Bridge today, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s the bridges of that time were paid for 50/50 by the City of Riverside and the County of Riverside.  This 50/50 arrangement extended even to the maintenance of the bridge with the city maintaining their half and no more and the county responsible for the maintenance of their half.   

This practice could cause problems as was reported in January 1904. At that time the Riverside Enterprise reported that the West Riverside bridge (as it was then known) was in a dangerous condition. The wood flooring of the bridge was rotting and that allowed two horses to break through the wood. One horse was severely injured. According to the paper the city had repaired its end of the bridge and that half was in good shape. However the county had not yet fixed its half and it was in "dangerous condition."