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| January 2013 (38.776 Degrees, -120.749 Degrees) Mosquito Road Bridge |
The current Mosquito Road Bridge was built in 1939. However, the stone towers are likely from the previous bridge, which was built in 1867. According to a history of the region on the
Sierra Nevada Geo-tourism Website the earlier bridge had no railing and was suspended from telephone wires
(more likely telegraph wires in 1867), which made for a lively ride.
The current bridge has a 201 ft main span and a width of only 8.9 ft and so cars on opposite sides of the bridge have to take turns crossing. The stone towers are topped with steel frames that act as saddles for the suspension cables, which are anchored into the hills behind the towers. There are a variety of other lines and cables suspended over the river, which detracts slightly from the attractiveness of the bridge.
1 comment:
My dad & his dad found a tiny gold mine, and bought 60 acres of land off Misquito rd. They built a big ranch house. My grandparents spent their life building & maintaining a garden that was so lush and so huge with many small paths that, as a kid, I would often get lost trying to make my way thru it. My grandparents were well-known for their Rhododendrons. The drive up thru Placerville / Misquito to their ranch always scared me with it's single lane, hairpin curves, and switchbacks. But that bridge made adults & kids alike absolutely terrified! My grandfather, who drove on those roads like he was on the freeway would meet us in town. If my dad drove, he would follow behind him for the 9 miles on to Mosquito. If dad wasn't there, my grandfather wpuld drive us to his house cuz the roads & that bridge was too just too terrifying!
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