SPECIAL REPORT: Gateway to the Desert Southwest

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The gateway to the Desert Southwest, built in 1915, the Ocean to Ocean Bridge, is one of the most iconic landmarks in Yuma County.

News 11's Samantha Byrd, the very first Miss Ocean to Ocean, wants to take a moment to share the history of this Yuma icon before her year of service comes to a close.

The Ocean to Ocean Bridge was the first highway crossing of the lower Colorado River, connecting Arizona to California.

"The Ocean to Ocean Bridge was completed in 1915 but the efforts to build this bridge on the Colorado river here in Yuma started years before that," said City of Yuma Historian Tammy Snook.

Snook says by the 1910s, the automobile became really popular and there were roads associations who promoted better roads.

"One of the things that the good roads associations really wanted was an Ocean to Ocean Highway, a highway that could run from the Pacific to the Atlantic," said Snook.

The historian says in 1913, Yuma's Congressional Representative proposed a bill that would pay for a bridge on the Colorado River that would be part of this Ocean to Ocean Highway.

"So by 1914, the construction started in late fall and then in the spring of 1915, it was completed, and it was such a momentous occasion that reportedly all the school kids had school canceled for that day so that they could come and watch this bridge being floated into place," said Snook.

In May of 1915, the Yuma Commercial Club hosted a big grand opening of the bridge.

"As part of their promotion of the new bridge, they purchased these light up letters for the bridge that said yuma ocean to ocean highway and that light-up sign is still in existence today," explained Snook.

The City of Yuma Historian says the main reason for building this bridge was tourism, especially with the new invention of the automobile, and now the bridge happens to be one of Yuma’s most popular tourist attractions.

"One of the most important things for any community is the icons and the Ocean to Ocean Bridge is one of those icons," said Marcus Carney, the Visit Yuma Executive Director.

Marcus Carney says the Ocean to Ocean Bridge is something tourists ask about at the visitor center every single day.

"People want to go and visit those icons. They want to see the things that they're seeing in the pictures about our community. They want to see the things that tie us to our history," said Carney.

Carney says he wants to leave the Yuma community an important message.

"Our history is really important in Yuma and so it's really important for us to maintain those things, not just for us today but long term to make sure we still have those things. Because it's one of those things that people are going to want to visit for as long as Yuma is going to be around," said Carney.

The Ocean to Ocean bridge is such a significant piece of Yuma history, the Yuma Scholarship Organization created a new title this year called Miss Ocean to Ocean.

"My family moved here in the 1940s both sets of great-grandparents and they were coming here for the lottery to win a homestead," said Miss Ocean to Ocean’s Teen 2024, Rylee Riesland.

Miss Ocean to Ocean's teen Rylee Riesland says she is honored to hold the title because of how the bridge connects with her grandfather's deep Yuma roots.

"So he had to travel across this bridge to get to the land because it was on the border of California and Arizona also known as the island or no man's land and it was very desolate so he farmed it himself and just to transport all his equipment he had to use this bridge," explained Riesland.

She says one of her favorite parts about holding the title is educating the public on the meaning behind this iconic landmark.

"A lot of people who live here don’t even know what it is. They're like we don't have an ocean here. It's saying Ocean to Ocean, east to west coast and it's super cool and I have had so many great opportunities holding this title," said Riesland.

Rylee and I will be passing on our crowns to the next Miss Ocean to Oceans this weekend in hopes that they too, continue sharing the history and significance behind this Yuma icon.

If you'd like to attend the Yuma Scholarship Organization's 2025 competition, come out to the Yuma Civic Center on Friday, November 8 at 7 p.m.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are available for sale at the door.