World War II Bridge Test Site
In January 1943 the Yuma Test Branch of the Engineer Board of the Corps of Engineers commenced test operations on fixed and floating bridges at Imperial Dam. Tests were conducted in both sluiceways as well as above and below the dam. Transportation equipment for bridges was tested in the desert as well as in the dunes west of Yuma. Troop units were ordered into the area to provide manpower for conducting the tests and to train in river crossing operations. The 87th, 88th, 553rd, and 555th Engr. Bns. (heavy Ponton), the 527th Engr. Co. (light pontoon), the 993rd Engr. Co. (Steel Treadway) and Co. E 33rd, Engr. Bn. (armored) provided troops to assist in tests at various times. Under conditions of extreme urgency these units provided great assistance to the engineer board in tests that resulted in improved capacities for the light and heavy pontoon bridges and the development of the steel treadway and M4 bridges, which were used successfully in the European and Pacific Theaters. The site continued to be used after the war and permanent structures were erected in what is now the headquarters area of the Yuma proving ground. The test branch was closed in 1949 and reopened in 1951 as the Yuma proving ground.
Marker is on Laguna Dam Road 0.1 miles east of California / Arizona border, on the left when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
