Gila River Crests Over Fort Thomas Bridge; Drivers Urged Not to Cross Running Water

By Gila Herald Staff Reports

FORT THOMAS — Motorists traveling through western Graham County on Wednesday morning are advised to exercise extreme caution as elevated water levels have caused the Gila River to overflow across the Fort Thomas Bridge on River Road.

Despite sunny skies and a lack of local rain directly over Fort Thomas, heavy monsoonal rainstorms upstream have significantly increased the river’s flow, pushing water over the low-water crossing.

Upstream Monsoonal Runoff Surges into the Gila

Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred explained that the rising water is the cumulative result of heavy precipitation across distant drainage basins pouring into the Gila River system.

“I haven’t really received any flooding reports, but that water that’s going over the Fort Thomas Bridge is coming from up the river,” Sheriff Allred said. “The San Simon Wash has been running water. I know it got a real big rain out that direction, which is southeast of town, and that water runs into the river. I also know that the San Francisco River through Clifton ran a bunch of water, so all the water coming from the different directions like that are getting together into the Gila, and then the Gila gets bigger. That’s why it’s doing that at Fort Thomas. As far as Fort Thomas itself goes, there’s no rain, no nothing else.”

Bridge Holding Up Well, But Caution Required

Recent infrastructure improvements and reinforcement work on the crossing appear to be handling the elevated river levels effectively.

“Two feet over that crossing is actually pretty good, I think,” Sheriff Allred added, referring to the bridge’s structural resilience. “Where they worked on that, it should hold it really well, and just hopefully nobody will drive through it.”

County authorities and emergency responders strongly remind motorists never to attempt to drive through flooded roadways or flowing water across low-water crossings. Even shallow-looking moving water can stall vehicles or wash them downstream.

Local drivers heading toward River Road should seek alternate routes until water levels recede back within the riverbanks.