# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DbYtUkUm8XY
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68548241-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/efa8c3874e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-29T18:00:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

Before Tempe Town Lake existed, the Salt River could go from nearly dry to raging through the middle of the city.

That happened in January 1993, when heavy winter storms sent floodwater rushing through Tempe while a second Mill Avenue Bridge was still under construction.

The surge tore through temporary scaffolding and framework beneath the unfinished bridge, forcing crews to stop work and assess the damage.

The original 1931 bridge stayed standing, and construction on the new crossing later resumed before it opened in 1994.

A few years later, the riverbed below was transformed into Tempe Town Lake.

Do you remember seeing the Salt River flood through Tempe like this?

Via: Tempe History Museum

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#Tempe #ArizonaHistory #MillAvenue #Phoenix #Arizona

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 906
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 35

## Tags

millavenue, arizonahistory, tempe, arizona, phoenix

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