Flooding prompts inspection of Shiprock bridge

DÁ’DEESTŁ’IN HÓTSAA

A New Mexico Department of Transportation road crew found no immediate concern with the San Juan River bridge in Shiprock Friday, according to Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton, as rising water prompted state transportation personnel to monitor the crossing and roadway.

Charles-Newton said Dana Garcia, NMDOT’s North Regional manager, told her Friday that additional bridge personnel would be sent to Shiprock for a closer evaluation. As of Saturday, Charles-Newton had not received the results.

Garcia also told Charles-Newton there were no plans to close the bridge, she said.

Garcia did not answer several calls Saturday seeking information about the bridge’s condition and the additional evaluation. One message was left, but she did not return the call.

The planned evaluation came as the San Juan River rose above flood stage Friday and water spread into the Nizhoni Park area near the crossing.

The Navajo Nation Police Department reported Saturday evening that three families living near the San Juan River were temporarily evacuated Friday. Two of the families stayed at the Catholic Center Bingo Hall. A family from Sanostee, New Mexico, also stayed overnight at the facility after being unable to get through its road.

All three evacuated families had returned to their homes by Saturday evening, according to authorities.

Charles-Newton said she was told one family had 18 sheep and that 13 were swept away by the river as the water rose.

Wally Buck of Shiprock stopped at the park Saturday and got out of his truck to look at the water. Buck, a longtime Shiprock resident, said he had never seen the community experience conditions like that and believed Shiprock was not prepared for the flooding.

Charles-Newton said rumors circulated in Shiprock that the bridge would be closed or could be washed away as the river rose.

Bridge rated poor

The crossing consists of two parallel bridges carrying U.S. 64 and U.S. 491 over the San Juan River.

The older steel truss bridge, federal structure No. 1792, was built in 1936. The Federal Highway Administration’s 2025 National Bridge Inventory classifies the bridge in poor overall condition based on a February 2024 inspection.

Its deck received a rating of 3, classified as serious condition. The superstructure and substructure each received a rating of 4, classified as poor condition.

The FHWA defines a rating of 4 as advanced section loss, deterioration, spalling or scour. A rating of 3 means deterioration has seriously affected primary structural components and local failures are possible.

A rating of 2 is classified as critical. A rating of 1 is classified as imminent failure. Under the federal rating system, a bridge with a rating of 1 is closed to traffic because of the condition of the affected component.

FHWA states that a bridge classified in poor condition is not necessarily unsafe. If an inspection determines a bridge is unsafe, it is closed.

The 1936 bridge was listed as open in the federal inventory.

Replacement delayed

Charles-Newton said the old truss bridge had been expected to be retired in 2024 because of its age. She said state transportation officials later told her the bridge did not need to be replaced immediately while design work continued on a replacement.

The replacement effort predates Charles-Newton’s first term on the Navajo Nation Council.

The Navajo Times reported in 2017 that the NMDOT and an engineering consultant were developing plans to replace the San Juan River crossing. Eric Froberg, then a project manager with T.Y. Lin International Group, told community members at a Sept. 27 meeting that the 1936 bridge was too low and too narrow for current traffic. Its sidewalks and roadway also did not meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

At the time, construction of a new bridge was expected to begin in 2021 at an estimated cost of $15 million to $20 million.

Charles-Newton said another public meeting took place Nov. 14, 2019, during her first year on the Council. She said information presented at that meeting put the replacement cost at about $20 million, with construction expected to begin in 2025 if full funding became available.

Design work was about 30% complete by early 2020, she said.

Construction did not begin on either schedule.

An NMDOT District 5 report presented to New Mexico lawmakers in 2025 listed $2.6 million in total design funding for the Shiprock bridge replacement project. The report identifies the work as bridge replacement and roadway reconstruction along U.S. 491 from mileposts 91.12 to 92.2 and U.S. 64 from mileposts 21.77 to 22.88.

The same report placed construction in the 2028 or 2029 planning years and listed the project at $102.6 million.

Ricky Serna, the former New Mexico Transportation secretary, discussed the bridge during a February meeting with President Buu Nygren. According to Nygren’s office, Serna said the bridge design was being developed to connect with improvements along the U.S. 64 corridor while the state pursued funding for the project.

Funding discussions also raised jurisdictional questions, Charles-Newton said.

“The bridge technically is under the jurisdiction of New Mexico state. It’s not a Navajo Nation bridge,” Charles-Newton said.

She said the bridge’s location within Shiprock led to questions about whether the Navajo Nation could pursue certain funding sources when the structure and highway belong to New Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded NMDOT $25 million in 2021 for improvements along about 21 miles of U.S. 64 west of Shiprock. Another $59.8 million was awarded in 2023 for the same corridor project, bringing the two federal grants to $84.8 million.

Those projects are separate from the replacement of the San Juan River truss bridge.

Duane Yazzie, a former Shiprock Chapter president, did not answer a call seeking background information about the bridge and comment on the replacement effort.

Charles-Newton said earlier discussions called for closing the old truss bridge to vehicle traffic rather than demolishing it. One proposal included transferring the structure to the Navajo Nation or Shiprock Chapter for another use.

The newer parallel bridge is federal structure No. 7148.

Federal records show the bridge was built in 1975 and is classified in fair overall condition. Its deck and superstructure received ratings of 6, classified as satisfactory, while its substructure received a rating of 5, classified as fair. Its channel condition received a rating of 4, classified as poor.

The older bridge also has been evaluated for scour, which occurs when flowing water removes sediment around bridge foundations.

Its federal scour rating was 8. Under the federal coding system, that means its foundations were determined to be stable for the assessed or calculated scour condition.

That federal record predates Friday’s flooding.

The National Weather Service reported the San Juan River at Shiprock at 15.6 feet at 2 p.m. Friday, just above the 15.5-foot flood stage. The flood warning remained in effect through late Saturday night.

The Navajo Police reported Saturday evening that the U.S. Geological Survey was at the river checking the water level, water temperature and discharge.

Community responds

Charles-Newton said Tanya Henderson, an administrative services officer with the Shiprock Administrative Services Center, contacted her after water began overflowing and families needed help. First responders began notifying residents along the river while Shiprock Chapter President Raymond John used the radio to provide information to elders in Navajo.

John did not answer several calls Saturday seeking comment. A message left for him was not returned.

Charles-Newton posted a request for volunteers to meet at the Shiprock Chapter House with shovels.

Residents filled more than 500 sandbags at the chapter parking lot from about 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Friday, she said. Some filled bags while others delivered them to homes.

“We had young and old. We had people coming out––people who got off of work, who went home, changed their clothes and came over,” Charles-Newton said. “So we had a lot of people out there in the community who were really trying to help, and they were concerned and just really kind of just volunteered their time to come out.”

Charles-Newton said the Catholic Center prepared cots, blankets and food for residents who needed shelter. The Diné Christian Center prepared food for displaced residents, first responders and volunteers.

By Saturday evening, the Navajo Police reported that the Shiprock Chapter House was distributing sandbags ahead of anticipated rainfall. Community members were placing sandbags at Nizhoni Park and providing them to families living near the river.

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