Los Angeles County, California Bridges: Victory Boulevard Bridge across the Los Angeles River

August 2009 (34.1867 Degrees, -118.5291 Degrees) Los Angeles River Bridges

Continuing down the Los Angeles River to the Victory Blvd. Bridge (53C1369) with a five span steel stringer superstructure. It sits on highly skewed pier walls with cutwaters. Looking back upstream is a pedestrian overcrossing and the Reseda Blvd Bridge (53C0062). All of the bridges across this part of the river were built around 1960.

Los Angeles County, California Bridges: Victory Boulevard Bridge across the Los Angeles River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Dry Creek Road Bridge across Dry Creek

September 2014 (38.71917 Degrees, -122.99889 Degrees) Dry Creek Road Bridge

The Dry Creek Road Bridge (20C0151) is a steel I girder bridge on pier walls over Dry Creek. It's also called the Board Bridge for some reason. The bridge is just downstream of the Warm Springs Dam, which is the big earthen embankment that can be seen in the photo above. It's a 3 span bridge with a 120 ft long center span over the creek. The bridge is on a 25 degree skew, it carries about 3000 vehicles a day, and it was built in 1951. 

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Dry Creek Road Bridge across Dry Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Santa Cruz County, California Bridges: Conference Center Drive Bridge and Overhead over Zayante Creek

March 2014 (37.05056 Degrees, -122.06472 Degrees) Conference Center Drive Br. and OH

Half a mile east of yesterday's bridge is the Conference Center Drive and Overhead Bridge (36C0038). This 523 ft long bridge crosses over East Zayante Road, Zayante Creek, and the South Pacific Coast Railroad (now owned by the Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific Railway). This bridge carries vehicle and foot traffic to the idyllic Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center.

The bridge is in surprisingly good shape for a structure built in 1930. Maybe it's maintained by the Conference Center? While I was photographing it groups of conference attendees kept strolling by on the timber sidewalk. 

It's a rather odd bridge because it's composed almost entirely of steel wide flange girders. The columns are steel girders, the superstructure is steel girders, and even the timber railing is supported by steel girders. Anyway, the bridge is composed of 50 ft spans and the deck is 24 ft wide.

I also wanted to photograph the Zayante Railroad Trestle Bridge but I couldn't figure out how to get down to it. The only photograph I was able to get (shown above) was from the deck of the Conference Center Bridge. Anyway, it's a steel plate girder bridge on reinforced concrete pier walls that was built in 1917. More information is available from Santa Cruz Trains Website.

Santa Cruz County, California Bridges: Conference Center Drive Bridge and Overhead over Zayante Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Santa Cruz County, California Bridges: Bear Creek Road across the San Lorenzo River

March 2014 (37.12778, -122.12194) Bear Creek Road Bridge

The town of Boulder Creek is located where several tributaries join the San Lorenzo River. I stopped to look at a few of the bridges in town.  Today's bridge carries Bear Creek Road across the San Lorenzo River. The Bear Creek Road Bridge (36C0084) is a 174 ft long 3-span steel stringer bridge with a 70 ft long center span. The San Lorenzo River has cut a narrow canyon at the bridge site and so the bridge is supported on tall, two column bents.

This is a county bridge, but it appears that bridge construction for both state and county bridges changed from concrete arch to steel and precast I girder bridges in the 1940s and 1950s. 

Bear Creek Road is surrounded by residences and it's so densely forested that I couldn't see the bridge on Google earth. It carries traffic between SR 9 and SR 17 through mountainous terrain.

Santa Cruz County, California Bridges: Bear Creek Road across the San Lorenzo River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Yuba County, California Bridges: Marysville Road Bridge across Collins Lake

November 2013 (39.36194 Degrees, -121.31583 Degrees) Dry Creek Bridge

There isn't a road east of the South Honcut Creek Arch Bridge. Instead, Los Virjeles Road continues south to Loma Rica Road before coming back north on Marysville Road, which turns east at Collins Lake (see Google earth photo below). This reservoir was formed by damming Dry Creek and it's crossed by Marysville Road on the four span Dry Creek Bridge (16-0004).

It is a four span steel girder bridge on hammerhead bents and the columns and river banks are strangely colored from the frequent rising and lowering of the creek. I had taken these photos at around 4 PM and so the light is a little dusky from going through so much sky.

The Collins Lake Bridge is 328 ft long and composed of four 80 ft spans with a 33 ft wide deck on a 45 degree skew. The bridge is in fair condition, it has a sufficiency rating of 74.6, it was built in 1963, and it carries less than 2000 vehicles a day.

Yuba County, California Bridges: Marysville Road Bridge across Collins Lake by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Dogtown Road Bridge across French Gulch

38.12583 Degrees, -120.57194 Degrees) Dogtown Road Bridge

The last bridge I photographed in Calaveras County was this little single span steel girder bridge.

Dogtown Road Bridge over French Gulch (30C0048) is 27 ft long, 18 ft wide, and built in 1940. It has a timber deck, carries about 100 vehicles a day, and has a sufficiency rating of 44.8.

This bridge and the last one were both posted for load, which was fortunately much higher than the weight of my Ford F150. This must have been a mining town some time ago, since 'Dogtown' is often associated with gold mining.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Dogtown Road Bridge across French Gulch by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Whiskey Slide Road Bridge across Jesus Maria Creek

June 2013 (38.25778 Degrees, -120.58000 Degrees) Whiskey Slide Road Bridge

 The Whiskey Slide Road Bridge (30C0062) over Jesus Maria Creek is another single span steel girder bridge. It is 40 ft long, 14 ft wide, and it was built in 1930. The bridge carries about 50 vehicles a day and it is in 'Fair' condition with a sufficiency rating of 65.4.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Whiskey Slide Road Bridge across Jesus Maria Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Railroad Flat Road Bridge across Esperenza Creek

June 2013 (38.29583 Degrees, -120.49583 Degrees) Railroad Flat Road Bridge

Continuing north we came to the Railroad Flat Road Bridge (30C0044) over Esperanza Creek. This is a single span steel stringer bridge that was built in 1940. It's 45 ft long, 21 ft wide, and on a 30 degree skew. it's in satisfactory condition with a sufficiency rating of 68.2 and it carries about 600 vehicles a day.

It's interesting how the concrete barrier rail is supported on corbels that rest on the bottom girder flange. 

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Railroad Flat Road Bridge across Esperenza Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Sheep Ranch Road Bridge across San Antonio Creek

May 2013 (38.20278 Degrees, -120.45083 Degrees) Sheep Ranch Road Bridge

Continuing north on Sheep Ranch Road we came to a single span steel girder bridge across San Antonio Creek. The National Bridge Inventory says that this Sheep Ranch Road Bridge (30C0039) was built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1955. It's 41 ft long, 24 ft wide, and carries about 300 vehicles a day.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Sheep Ranch Road Bridge across San Antonio Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; San Domingo Road Bridge across San Domingo Creek

May 2013 (38.15778 Degrees, -120.47889 Degrees) San Domingo Road Bridge

Continuing north from Murphys onto Sheep Ranch Road I came upon a bridge so covered in pipes and vegetation that I could barely see the superstructure.

The San Domingo Creek Bridge (30C0063) is a 24 ft long, single span steel girder bridge built in 1935. The bridge is 16 ft wide, it has a concrete deck, and carries just 50 vehicles a day.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; San Domingo Road Bridge across San Domingo Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Algiers Street Bridge across Angels Creek

May 2013 (38.13694 Degrees, -120.46389 Degrees) Algiers Street Bridge

Just downstream from yesterday's arch bridge is a steel girder bridge over Angels Creek. The Algiers Street Bridge (30C0064) is a 30 ft long single span bridge that was built in 1940.

On the north side of the bridge is a water line in a steel box with braces attached the bridge's bottom flange.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Algiers Street Bridge across Angels Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Spicer Meadow Road Bridge across the North Fork of the Stanislaus River

June 2013 (38.42236 Degrees, -120.04606 Degrees) Spicer Meadow Road Bridge

The easternmost bridge across the North Fork of the Stanislaus River in Calaveras County is the Spicer Meadow Road Bridge. It's a single span Corten steel I girder bridge on rocker bearings. 

This bridge must have been built by the US Forest Service, because there is no information about it in the National Bridge Inventory. I've noticed that they like to use Corten steel since they don't have maintenance crews to paint their bridges.

The bridge carries visitors from State Route 4 across the river and to Spicer Meadow Reservoir. Spicer Meadow Road is also called Forest Route 7N01 and goes between SR-4 and SR-108.

The map below shows most of the bridges we visited as we traveled east along the Stanislaus River and onto the North Fork between Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; Spicer Meadow Road Bridge across the North Fork of the Stanislaus River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; New McKays Dam Road Bridge across the North Fork of the Stanislaus River

June 2013 (38.23197 Degrees, -120.29575 Degrees) New McKays Dam Road Bridge

Continuing upstream we came to New McKays Dam, which has a single span steel girder bridge in front of it.  The entire North Branch of the Stansilaus River from the foothills into the Sierras is managed by the Northern California Power Agency with its flood control and hydroelectric facilities.

Calaveras County, California Bridges; New McKays Dam Road Bridge across the North Fork of the Stanislaus River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges: State Route 49 across San Domingo Creek

May 2013 (38.11472 Degrees, -120.61500 Degrees) San Domingo Creek Bridge

Continuing south on State Route 49 we crossed San Domingo Creek. It's odd that San Antonio Creek is shallow under Pool Station Road while San Domingo Creek is shallow under State Route 49. Maybe they misnamed the bridges on Pool Station Road in the National Bridge Inventory?

Like the previous bridge, this is a five span steel girder bridge built in 1934. It's a nice looking bridge with recessed pier walls and old timber barrier rails. Its 152 ft long and 24 ft wide between the curbs.

Calaveras County, California Bridges: State Route 49 across San Domingo Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Calaveras County, California Bridges: State Route 49 Bridge across San Antonio Creek

April 2013 (38.13111 Degrees, -120.63472 Degrees) State Route 49 Bridge

Back on State Route 49 over San Antonio Creek on a five span steel girder bridge. It's interesting that the bridges carrying State Route 49 are 70 years older than the bridges carrying Pool Station Road. The Golden Chain Highway must have been built as the first road through the county while Pool Station Road must be one of the most recent roads through the county.

The State Route 49 Bridge (30 0017) is a 152 ft long five span steel girder bridge on pier walls that was built in 1934. Like all the other SR 49 bridges in Calaveras County it is only 24 ft wide. The bridge is rated fair with a sufficiency rating of 70.5, and cit arries 6500 vehicles a day. Like all the bridges we've looked at in Calaveras County so far it is ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Calaveras County, California Bridges: State Route 49 Bridge across San Antonio Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.