Contra Costa County, California Bridges: Iron Horse (and Contra Costa Canal) Footbridges

February 2014 (37.9217 Degrees, -122.0606 Degrees) Iron Horse (and Contra Costa Canal) Trails

The Iron Horse Trail extends from Dublin all the way to Martinez (a distance of about 55 miles). The trail was part of the Southern Pacific Railroad right of way from 1891 until it was abandoned in 1977. We've seen several other counties (El Dorado County, Yolo County, etc.) that have turned their abandoned railroad tracks into parks and trails. This part of Contra Costa County is called the 'East Bay' and is an idyllic area to go for a walk or a ride.

I spent some time hiking the Iron Horse Trail and the adjacent Contra Costa Canal Trail (see photo) in Walnut Creek. However, these trails were narrow and without any markings to separate bicyclists from pedestrians. It became nerve wracking as the bicyclists were constantly interrupting my reverie with calls of "On your left!"  There are several old and new footbridges on the trail, which we will be studying over the next few days.

Contra Costa County, California Bridges: Iron Horse (and Contra Costa Canal) Footbridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Yolo County, California Bridges: UC Davis Bridges across Putah Creek (3)

July 2013 (38.5403 Degrees, -121.7422 Degrees) Putah Creek Bridges

There are also a number of road bridges crossing over Putah Creek in the UC Davis Arboretum. As we walked along Putah Creek, we passed under the Cocker Lane Bridge (22I0003) a 3-span concrete continuous T-girder bridge that was built in 1955.

Next is the Mrak Hall Drive Bridge (22I0002), a single span T-girder bridge that was built in 1965.

As we continued our walk, we came to the 'A' Street Bridge (22I0001), a pretty single span open spandrel arch bridge that was built in 1965.

At the end of the Arboretum is the Putah Creek Pedestrian Undercrossing (22 0194), a single box tunnel, built in  2001that goes under some railroad tracks.

Finally, as we continued walking, we got to 1st Street and Richards Blvd and the Davis Underpass (22C0017), a very old steel stringer railroad bridge (1916) with a tunnel for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Yolo County, California Bridges: UC Davis Bridges across Putah Creek (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Algeria's Bridges: Pedestrian Undercrossing near Thenia

A pedestrian undercrossing under some railroad tracks near Thenia, Algeria.

Pedestrian undercrossings (and overcrossings) are nice features that can save lives. However, pedestrian undercrossings have become less popular in the US because they provide muggers with a convenient place to accost people. In California, surfers use the culverts under the Pacific Coast Highway to get to the beach.

Algeria's Bridges: Pedestrian Undercrossing near Thenia by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.