GILA COUNTY, AZ — A flood warning was in effect for Tonto Creek in Gila County as storms moved through Arizona this week, marking one of the first major weather events since the Tonto Creek Bridge opened in June 2024. The bridge was designed to prevent tragedies involving cars being swept away by floodwaters that fill the creek after storms.
The $21 million bridge project began in 2022 and officially opened on June 10, 2024, after years of construction and debate. ABC15 has covered flooding issues in the Tonto Creek area for years, documenting how the area is prone to dangerous conditions during monsoon season.
About half of the residents in the remote community of Tonto Basin live on the east side of the creek, becoming isolated from many services on the west side when the creek floods. The dirt road crossings in the area often become impassable and dangerous during storms.
Before the bridge was built, Tonto Basin Elementary School frequently declared "creek days" when water levels made crossing too dangerous. Teachers remember camping out on the opposite side of the creek or risking dangerous crossings through water.
Wendy Granneman, a third and fourth-grade teacher at Tonto Basin Elementary School, stopped on the bridge this week to appreciate the convenience of a safe crossing.
“Our children are safe, our teachers are safe, the community is safe. Our elders can get to their doctors appointments. People can get groceries. I thought of people getting groceries," Granneman said.
Granneman has taught at the school for nearly a decade and remembers praying for safe crossings with her husband during storms.
"Sometimes when it was not crossable, we would come over and double bunk in a small camp trailer," Granneman said.
She recalled the dangerous conditions families faced when attempting to cross the creek.
"We would have our children in the truck with us, not buckled in because we wanted to be able to get out of our truck safely if it stalled," Granneman said.
The bridge project was funded through a federal grant announced in September 2020. In January 2020, then-Governor Doug Ducey called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the bridge project, which was included as a policy priority in the Governor's State of the State address.
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The bridge project was debated for decades, but only received national attention and government action after a tragedy involving children at the creek. In November 2019, the Rawlings family tried to drive their oversized military-style vehicle through a part of Tonto Creek called Bar X Crossing, about five miles south of where the bridge was built. Three children died when their vehicle became stuck trying to cross the creek.
"The Arizona Department of Transportation has been administering the contract for Gila County and done an outstanding job," Gila County Engineer Thomas Goodman previously told ABC15. "Other than some weather delays and additional environmental mitigation measures back in late 2022 and early 2023, the project has been on schedule and within budget."
"Our community bands together whenever we have something occur. Even during times of grief and sorrow they would band together," Granneman said.
During this week's storms, Granneman paused to reflect on the transformation.
"The creek was running and I stopped on the bridge to look at the water that I will never have to drive through again," Granneman said.
Creek days are now a thing of the past, existing only as memories for those who appreciate the new bridge's safety.
"I don't think I'll ever take it for granted. I think about our community every time I see water under that bridge," Granneman said.
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