The bridge was originally part of the main highway between Yuma and Phoenix, known as the Ocean to Ocean Highway. The route also carried several auto trails such as the Dixie Overland Highway, Bankhead Highway and Old Spanish Trail. It was partly rebuilt in 1917-1918 after the 1916 flood washed away the northern approach to the bridge; the modification added five more concrete spans and a wooden trestle. Washouts and destruction of the bridge by flooding were common due to its placement on a weak soil area along the Gila River floodplain. Damage to the bridge came to be expected every time a major flood event occurred on the lower Gila River. Two particularly large floods in November 1919 and February 1920 not only damaged the bridge but completely submerged it as well as washed out a large section of the highway it served. This led to the Arizona Highway Department deciding to construct an entirely different route to bypass the floodplain all together. In 1922, construction of an alternate route through Gila Bend was completed. The new route crossed the Gila River with a concrete apron at the foot of the Gillespie Dam. The apron itself would be replaced five years later by the new Gillespie Dam Bridge. This effectively ended the purpose for which the Antelope Hill Highway Bridge was constructed. The alternate route became the new main highway to Phoenix and was designated as part of U.S. Route 80 in 1926. US 80 would later be replaced by Interstate 8.