Former Historic Bridge was Demolished as City Prepares for Economic Development Activity among BNSF’s Plans for Major Railway Hub
BARSTOW, CA – Nov. 19, 2024 – After several months of construction, the new North First Avenue Bridge in Barstow has been completed, and its opening was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Several city officials and local community members joined together for the event, which was held at 9 a.m. on the north side of the bridge. The construction of the new bridge was launched in January 2023 following the BNSF Railway announcement of plans to develop the largest railway hub in the western United States in Barstow. The City of Barstow called the bridge construction the first notable infrastructure development during the upcoming planning phases. The bridge has been a main thoroughfare for schools, hospitals and other services, and the new one will now provide a more modern structure and improve goods movement as the city improves its infrastructure.
“The City of Barstow is thrilled to reach this moment of the new, modern bridge’s completion,” said Interim City Manager Andrew Espinoza, Jr. “Holding the ribbon-cutting today is significant for us. It’s the first major infrastructure change as our city is in the midst of a large transformation due to the BNSF development here. It’s an exciting time for the City of Barstow.”
The new bridge, made of concrete, has a modern appearance. It has a wider sidewalk on one side for a pedestrian walkway, eight-foot shoulders for bicyclists, and a lookout point for individuals to view the prominent railroad. It is about 1,179 feet long, with a width of 50 feet that expands to over 62 feet to accommodate a left turn lane that extends onto the bridge structure. Its aesthetics are similar to the city’s well-known Harvey House, comprising antique lighting and quaint touches. Its funding came from various sources, including the Federal Highway Bridge Program, state funds, Measure I funds, and the City of Barstow.
The former North First Avenue Bridge was constructed in 1930 and modified in 1943. It was a two-lane steel and wooden bridge and was a focal point of the railroad industry. It no longer met the structural and functional standards and demands of the city, especially with upcoming plans for spurred economic development activity.
BNSF Railway plans to invest more than $1.5 billion to construct a state-of-the-art master-planned rail facility in Barstow. The Barstow International Gateway (BIG) will be an approximately 4,500-acre new integrated rail facility on the west side of Barstow, consisting of a rail yard, intermodal facility and warehouses for transloading freight from international containers to domestic containers. The facility will allow the direct transfer of containers from ships at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to trains for transport through the Alameda Corridor onto the BNSF mainline up to Barstow. Once the containers reach the Barstow International Gateway, they will be processed at the facility using clean-energy powered cargo-handling equipment, and then staged and built into trains moving east via BNSF’s network across the nation. Westbound freight will similarly be processed at the facility to more efficiently bring trains to the ports and other California terminals.
More information on the City of Barstow can be accessed at www.BarstowCA.org.
