The bridge faced many strong floods that raged through the Salt River Valley. In 1980 all but two of the bridged crossings on the Salt River were closed for safety reasons (principally erosion of the approaches) due to severe flooding. The Mill Avenue Bridge and one other bridge, the Central Avenue bridge in Phoenix were the only bridges that remained open. This was because they were structurally sound to stand up to the raging currents. Water hit the bridge at , which far surpassed the expected strength of the bridge. In one 24-hour period during this flood, 92,000 vehicles crossed the bridge.