Last week Edgewood community members celebrated a piece of New Mexico history finding a permanent home in Venus Park during the Huston Memorial Bridge’s ribbon cutting ceremony.
The ribbon was cut by Dottie Miller, daughter of Donald and Mary Huston for whom the bridge is named.
Miller said her father retired in Edgewood in 1983 after 45 years of service with Brown construction company, which built roads, highways and portions of the interstate in New Mexico. In 1984, Huston bought the bridge at an auction thinking it would be of use in the future.
“The Huston family chose to donate this bridge to the town of Edgewood, in the spirit of encouraging Edgewood to be a community where people care about each other and value family,” Miller said. “It is a testament to their lifelong belief in America.”
The bridge has literally crossed hundreds of miles of New Mexico in its lifetime. In 1930 Pony Truss Bridge Number 0634 was constructed over Taylor Canyon on Highway 380 in Socorro County by the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company of Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1980 the bridge was disassembled and relocated off Dinkle Road in Edgewood. It moved to its current location over Bachelor Draw Nov. 1. The Huston Memorial Bridge now connects Venus Park to other trails in Section 16, and provides safe crossing for students coming from the middle school to the park and town library.
Edgewood Community Liaison Linda Burke said although Bachelor Draw is in the flood zone and holds water during heavy rains, the Huston Memorial Bridge is intended to be more of a pedestrian bridge than a major water crossing. It does, however, improve town safety and serves several practical functions.
“The alternative for kids, especially coming from the middle school, is to walk along Highway 344 which can be dangerous. There’s a lot of traffic there. There’s no sidewalk there,” Burke said. “It allows the community to access the trails a little bit easier. I’m sure it will become a spot where people take photographs and things like that so it will have an aesthetic element for the community, too.”
The Huston Memorial Bridge is truly American made, right down to its brand new red paint. Burke said because the town received federal funding to put the bridge in place, they were required to use all American-made materials. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, attendees fittingly broke out into a rendition of “God Bless America” during the dedication speech.
“I really want to acknowledge everyone who has made this possible, from the ones who created the metal to all the people in Edgewood who have made this something that people can now really use and enjoy, because it truly is the people of America that make things happen and not the government,” Miller said.