Santa Clara County, California Bridges: Alum Rock Park Bridges across Upper Penitencia Creek

May 2014 (37.39386 Degrees -121.81464 Degrees) Upper Penitencia Creek Bridges

I'll end our visit to Alum Rock Park with a couple more bridges. I don't even know if these bridges have formal names but they all cross Upper Penitencia Creek (the lower tributary is called Milpitas Creek).  More information about the park can be found on Wikepedia. The bridge shown above is a closed spandrel arch with a pretty baluster rail made of stones. The bridge below is a shallower arch supported on interestingly-shaped abutments. It just shows the variety of expression that is possible on these small stone arch bridges.

Santa Clara County, California Bridges: Alum Rock Park Bridges across Upper Penitencia Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napa County, California Bridges: Maxwell Creek Bridges

December 2013 (38.6016 Degrees, -122.3681 Degrees) Maxwell Creek Bridges

Two bridges were built where Maxwell Creek crosses near the intersection of Hardin and Dollarhide Roads (see Google earth photo). The Hardin Road Bridge (21C0058) is the bigger structure. It's a tall stone arch bridge built in 1909. Like the other historic bridges in Napa County, it was registered in 2005.

The registration states, "The Maxwell Creek Bridge is a single 22.5 foot long, earth filled closed spandrel masonry arch. This 2 lane bridge has a length of 38 feet and a width of 19.7 feet. The masonry structure is comprised of square cut stone laid in regular courses. Both railings are comprised of square cut stone. A rural setting of trees and fields surrounds the bridge. The availability of high quality building stone from nearby sources and the presence of skilled stonemasons can be seen in the many stone buildings and bridges that still exist throughout the county. This bridge is located on Hardin Road 1.6 miles southeast of Pope Canyon Road. Napa County Surveyor, O.K. Buckman, designed the Maxwell Creek Bridge in 1909. Buckman served as a Napa County Surveyor from 1895 until about the time of World War I. The abundance of masonry arch bridges in Napa County is primarily due to his design efforts. This bridge was built by contractor J.B. Newman for a cost of $1875. Newman was one of the primary masonry bridge contractors in Napa valley in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For all intents and purposes, this bridge retains its original appearance." 

The Dollarhide Road Bridge over a tributary of Maxwell Creek was built in 1910. It's not a county bridge and it's a much smaller structure than the Hardin Road Bridge which may explain why it hasn't been registered as a historic place.

 The Dollarhide Road Bridge is only 12 ft long and 19 ft wide. It includes a step dam on the downstream side of the bridge.

Napa County, California Bridges: Maxwell Creek Bridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napa County, California Bridges: Garnet Creek Bridges in Calistoga

December 2013 (38.6033 Degrees, -122.5887 Degrees) Garnet Creek Bridges

The Lake County Highway (SR 29) Bridge (21 0005) is a three span stone arch that was built in 1902. This bridge was registered as a historic place in 2005. The bridge was designed by JM Graham and built by HW Wing who supplied the stone for many of the old structures that are still standing in Napa County.

The bridge is 81 ft long and only 19 ft wide and carries over 4000 vehicles a day. The Weekly Calistogan writes that Caltrans would like to preserve the existing bridge and/or build a new bridge to carry traffic but there is opposition to both options from residents. They don't want to see any of their vineyards converted into a roadway and they also don't want to have a historic bridge demolished. 

Erosion is damaging the bridge foundations and arches, heavy truck traffic is damaging the deck, and the bridge is too narrow to safely carry two lanes of traffic.

Another historic bridge crosses over Garnet Creek in Calistoga. The Greenwood Avenue Bridge (21C0042) is a single span stone arch that was built in 1904 (see photo above). It's 50 ft long, only 17 ft wide, and registered as a historic place in 2005. The bridge was designed by Oliver Buckman and built by John Money. The area surrounding the bridge is so full of brambles that I wasn't able to get under the bridge.

Napa County, California Bridges: Garnet Creek Bridges in Calistoga by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napa County, California Bridges: Foothill Blvd (SR28/129) Bridges in Calistoga

December 2013 (38.56636 Degrees, -122.56324 Degrees) Foothill Blvd. Bridges

I'm going to incorporate the remaining bridges on Foothill Blvd (SR28/129) in Napa County into a single blog. The Diamond Mountain Creek Bridge (21C0060) is a stone masonry arch that is 22 ft long but was widened to 44 ft with a box girder bridge on the east side in 1988. I took a photo of the widening and Craig Philpott has a nice photo of the transition from new to old on the Bridgehunter Website.

The Cyrus Creek Bridge (21 0027) is a 60 ft long single span CIP box girder superstructure that was built in 1993. The Blossom Creek Bridge (21 0068) was a stone arch that was built 1901 but was completely rehabilitated in 1993 covering the original arch bridge. I didn't photograph either of these bridges.

The last bridge on Foothill Blvd (before we entered Sonoma County) is another stone arch over Blossom Creek (shown below) that was built in 1905 but doesn't have a bridge number. We are at the north end of the town of Calistoga, which has geysers, hot springs, and other tourist attractions. We'll study a couple of other bridges in Calistoga tomorrow.

Napa County, California Bridges: Foothill Blvd (SR28/129) Bridges in Calistoga by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napa County, California Bridges: Spring Mountain Road Bridges across York Creek

December 2013 (38.50707 Degrees, -122.49192 Degrees) Spring Mountain Road Bridges

Just northwest of St Helena, Spring Mountain Road and York Creek crisscross three times, resulting in three stone arches that were built in 1903. The first bridge was repaired with concrete on the east side and a waterline was placed next to it (see photo below).

The next bridge has some of the stones from the top of the barrier missing. It looks like they built the arch, then the spandrel wall, then a stone bridge deck, and finally a stone barrier wall on top.

The last bridge uses red stones for the arch. Note that York Creek flows at a sharp angle to this bridge.

All three bridges have plaques with the completion date and the names of the county supervisors at the time the bridges were built. 

The Spring Mountain Road Bridges are similar to those on Stanley Lane that we studied on December 3rd. However, these bridges are still carrying trucks and cars. Spring Mountain Road carries 1500 vehicles a day and the bridges have sufficiency ratings of about 50. 

Napa County, California Bridges: Spring Mountain Road Bridges across York Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napa County, California Bridges: Napa Creek Arch Bridges in Downtown Napa

November 2013 (38.3006, -122. 2867) Napa Creek Arch Bridges

Continuing downstream along Napa Creek we crossed the wide Pearl Street Bridge (21C0097). This is a stone arch carrying traffic lanes and sidewalks that was built in 1920. A little further downstream is an unnamed little stone arch in the 9/11 Memorial Park. I've seen girders from the World Trade Center in Christchurch New Zealand and now in Napa California (see last photo). 

Just beyond Memorial Park is the Main Street Bridge (21C0044), which was built in 1860 and rehabilitated in 1985. It's 55 ft long and only 24 ft wide (see photos below). 

The Main Street Bridge has a pretty wrought iron railing and a deck that overhangs the arch (perhaps the 1985 improvement?). Even with the widened deck the road narrows significantly to accomodate the bridge. It carries 11,000 vehicles a day and has a sufficiency rating of only 36.7. 

This is a very shallow arch and so there's barely room for the cap stone. I wonder if the deck is helping carry the live load? The bridge is tucked into stone retaining walls since the creek is being crowded by parks, parking lots, an opera house, and other newly completed construction.

Napa County, California Bridges: Napa Creek Arch Bridges in Downtown Napa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napa County, California Bridges: Stanley Lane Bridges

November 2013 (38.25732 Degrees, -122.30639 Degrees) Stanley Lane Bridges

Stanley Lane is an old road that was converted to part of a hiking, running, and biking trail through the Los Carneros American Viticulture Area, where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown.  Three old arch bridges were built at the beginning of the 20th century to carry the road over some small creeks. Stanley Lane Bridge One was built in 1906. It's 36 ft long with a flat 18 ft long arch span.

Continuing south a few hundred yards is the 18 ft long Stanley Lane Bridge Two with a 6 ft long arch span.

A little farther south is another 18 ft long bridge, the Stanley Lane Arch Bridge Three.

I had to duck my head to walk under each of these examples of the stone mason's art. All three bridges were built around 1906, probably by the same person. These bridges were made with just some concrete and the volcanic rocks lying in piles around the fields.

Napa County, California Bridges: Stanley Lane Bridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.