Sonoma County, California Bridges: State Route 116 Bridge across the Russian River

August 2014 (38.46806 Degrees, -123.03472 Degrees) State Route 116 Bridge

The next bridge across the Russian River is a prestressed concrete box girder bridge on pier walls. The State Route 116 Bridge across the Russian River (20 0254) is a four span, 917 ft long bridge that was built in 1998. The previously built truss bridge sits beside it as a pedestrian bridge. Caltrans architects try to shape the edges and corners of the piers and girders of cast-in-place bridges so they don't look like they were made with a cookie cutter. 

Sonoma County, California Bridges: State Route 116 Bridge across the Russian River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: River Road Bridge across the Russian River

August 2014 (38.50889 Degrees, -122.92694 Degrees) River Road Bridge

The River Road Bridge (20C0037) is the next Russian River Crossing as we continued downstream. It's a 200 ft long single span Pratt truss bridge with a 300 ft long concrete slab approach on the east end. On the west side of the bridge were hundreds of revelers floating in the river and lying along the banks. One guy even leapt from the railing into the river while I was photographing the bridge (see photo below).

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

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Wohler Road Bridge across the Russian River (2)

August 2014 (38.50778 Degrees, -122.88278 Degrees) Wohler Road Bridge

The Russian River is in trouble. California is in the middle of a drought and so dams were built to keep water in the river including this one just upstream of the Wohler Road Bridge. 

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Wohler Road Bridge across the Russian River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Wohler Road Bridge across the Russian River (1)

August 2014 (38.50778 Degrees, -122.88278 Degrees) Wohler Road Bridge

We're now going to switch from studying arches to studying trusses. We've reached the wide Russian River, which is crossed by several long truss bridges. For some reason, people in San Francisco love the Russian River and treat it like the ocean, sunning themselves along its banks.

The Wohler Road Bridge (20C0155) includes three long (230 ft) truss spans and concrete approach spans, but it's only 16.7 ft wide. Drivers have to patiently watch and wait for traffic to clear before trying to get across before the next car arrives. They say the bridge only carries 500 vehicles a day, but that must be on weekdays. When we arrived on a Sunday it seemed like there was non-stop traffic on this bridge.

The Wohler Road Bridge was built in 1921 by the American Bridge Company of New York City. According to Historic Bridges each Parker through truss span is composed of 10 pin-connected panels. The bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Records but it's also supposed to get a seismic retrofit whenever funds become available. The fragile laced members seem unsuited for much shaking. I just returned from looking at undamaged bridges after Sunday's M6.0 South Napa Earthquake. It was fortunate that there were no bridges that looked like the Wohler Bridge near Napa.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Wohler Road Bridge across the Russian River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Laughlin Road Bridge across Mark West Creek

August 2014 (38.50000 Degrees, -122.79889 Degrees) Laughlin Road Bridge

Continuing northwest of Santa Rosa we arrived at the final single span arch bridge in our study. The Laughlin Road Bridge (20C0246) across Mark West Creek is narrow (16.4 ft), on a short radius curve, and just south of Sonoma Airport. Consequently the bridge ensnares a couple of truck drivers every month. In a recent article in the Windsor Press Democrat they show several interesting photos of just how stuck a big truck can get on a narrow curved bridge.

This bridge was built in 1916 and they're planning to replace it in 2017. It has nicely pointed end posts and a plaque naming the people who made the bridge. I guess the problem isn't with the bridge but with the narrow road that turns so sharply to cross over Mark West Creek.

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

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Great Heron Drive Bridge across Sky Hawk Creek

August 2014 (38.46556 Degrees, -122.63944 Degrees) Great Heron Drive Bridge

Today we go from a 99 year old arch bridge to a 19 year old arch bridge. The Great Heron Drive Bridge (20C0527) in Santa Rosa crosses Sky Hawk Creek. A form liner was used on today's bridge to give the concrete a striated surface. We can also see the forms that were used to create the arch. Similar to yesterday's bridge, no attempt has been made to control the vegetation surrounding the bridge. Also, more effort was made to make the barrier and end posts attractive than on the bridge itself.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Great Heron Drive Bridge across Sky Hawk Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Melita Road Bridge across Santa Rosa Creek

August 2014 (38.45583 Degrees, -122.63583 Degrees ) Melita Road Bridge

A couple of miles west of the O'Donnell Lane Bridge is the Melita Road Bridge (20C0186) across Santa Rosa Creek. Unlike yesterday's bridge this structure is very plain, covered in lichen, and surrounded by dense vegetation. One nice aesthetic feature are the impressive barriers with their massive end posts. At one end of the barrier a plaque was mounted that gives the names of the County Board of Supervisors and concludes with "Designed by F. W. Maurice, Eng., Built by Call Construction Co., 1915." These plaques call out from the past "Look what we've created!"

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

Sonoma County, California Bridges: O'Donnell Lane Bridge across Calabazas Creek

August 2014 (38.36328 Degrees, -122.52510 Degrees) O'Donnell Lane Bridge

Over the next few days, we'll look at different single span arch bridges in Sonoma County. In Glen Ellen a pretty brick-clad bridge crosses Calabazas Creek (a tributary of Sonoma Creek). The O'Donnell Lane Bridge (20C0324) was built in 1900, but perhaps the facade (or the concrete barrier) came later. The bridge is 40 ft long, only 10 ft wide, and still carries about 500 cars a day. 

A nice feature is the retaining wall next to the bridge that holds back the soil and supports a slender tree. Highway departments train architects to create attractive landscapes out of roads, bridges, rocks, plants, and trees. The result, similar to a landscape painting, can give the viewer a deep aesthetic experience.

The banks have been protected with bags filled with soil-cement and cleared of debris. The creek must be periodically groomed to reduce the risk of flooding. Note how the bridge is asymmetrical due to the high bank on the left side. The bridge is on a bend in the river and so that side must get scoured by water racing around the bend.

The O'Donnell Lane Bridge is eligible for registration as a historical place.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: O'Donnell Lane Bridge across Calabazas Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Pedestrian Bridge across Santa Rosa Creek

August 2014 (38.4572 Degrees, -122.6396 Degrees) Santa Rosa Creek Bridge

Today's bridge is so odd that I'm not even sure if it's really a bridge. We found it crossing Santa Rosa Creek next to Annadel State Park. What makes it odd is how very deep the superstructure is, far deeper than would be required to carry pedestrians across a creek. I think it must function as some kind of dam, controlling the amount of water that can flow through the creek. However, dams typically control the amount of water with gates and sloughs. 

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

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Arnold Drive Bridge across Sonoma Creek

August 2014 (38.3508 Degrees, -122.5189 Degrees) Arnold Drive Bridge

I was about to call this bridge a Camelback truss until I read in the Bridgehunter that Camelback trusses have 5-sided upper chords, while today's bridge has a 7-sided top chord, making it a Parker through truss. The Arnold Drive Bridge (20C0213) sits on the edge of a large developmental center between Eldridge and Glen Ellen. We've traveled northeast from Petaluma and so this bridge crosses over the previously visited Sonoma Creek.

This area was called "Valley of the Moon' by the writer Jack London and is a major wine producing region. The bridge was built in 1930 and remains in 'good' condition but with a poor deck. It's the deck that goes first on bridges. Trucks keep getting heavier and older structures can't sustain all the traffic (14,000 vehicles a day).

The Arnold Drive Bridge is 140 ft long, 24 ft wide, but with a vertical clearance of only 12.7 ft. I'm surprised that the portal frames haven't been damaged by tall vehicles during the last 84 years. The bridge has a plaque that says that it's a Sonoma historic landmark. It also says that the bridge was designed by E. A. Peugh. I went online and found (on the Historic Bridges Website) that he (she?) had designed several other truss bridges in Sonoma County.

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

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Copeland Crossing over the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.2389 Degrees, -122.6398 Degrees) Copeland Crossing

A couple of blocks upstream from yesterday's bridge is another bowstring truss, only made of steel instead of timber. The Copeland Crossing is a prefabricated pony truss bridge built of Corten steel, designed by CSW/ST2, and built by the Excel Bridge Manufacturing Company. The bridge was manufactured in two 71 ft long pieces, brought to the site, set into position with four cranes, and then bolted together. Because of the weak soil the abutments were placed on deep piles and surrounded with Geofoam blocks. The bridge was designed to match the Balshaw Bridge and it was completed last summer. It connects the two sides of the Petaluma River Trail.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Copeland Crossing over the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Balshaw Bridge across the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.2344 Degrees, -122.6398 Degrees) 

A couple of blocks upstream from yesterday's 'D' Street Bridge is the Balshaw Pedestrian Bridge, a 120 ft long timber bowstring truss that was built in 1989. The bridge was constructed in a yard in Santa Rosa, carried by barge, and assembled across the Petaluma River in downtown Petaluma. Like many urban bridges, this one was named after a city councilman.

Timber truss bridges (like the previously studied Rancho Murieta Bridge) can be nice, but the top chord is splitting on this bridge and no thought was put into creating an attractive handrail. This rail dominates and makes the bridge look like it's being supported by the steel railing.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Balshaw Bridge across the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: D Street Bridge across the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.23389 Degrees, -122.63583 Degrees) D Street Bridge

Sonoma County seems to have a lot of rolling lift bridges including today's D Street Bridge (20C0048) in the City of Petaluma. This bridge was built in 1933 and rehabilitated twice, with the last repair done in 2009. It's 200 ft long with an 80 ft long movable span. I imagine the counterweight and the tracks must be under the deck.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: D Street Bridge across the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: U.S 101 Bridges across the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.22833, -122.61528 Degrees) U.S. 101 Bridges

It took me a while to figure out what was happening on today's structure, the U.S. 101 Bridges (20 0154L/R) across the Petaluma River. I believe the existing bridges (supported on single column bents) are being replaced by a new bridge (on shorter three column bents).We can see the I girders being placed on the new bent cap. After they put traffic on these new girders they'll start to remove the old (1955) bridges.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: U.S 101 Bridges across the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: NWP Haystack Landing Bridge across the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.22820 Degrees, -122.61404 Degrees) Haystack Landing Bridge

Continuing up the Petaluma River we arrived at the NWP Railroad Haystack Landing Bridge. The Bridgehunter writes that this 1903 swing bridge is going to be disassembled and replaced with a newer Scherzer rolling lift bridge. There is no obvious sign of this transformation, although the swing bridge seems to be missing the extra bracing and bridge house over the pivot that we saw on the swing bridge a couple of days ago. Note all the timber piles surrounding the bridge to protect it from collisions. 

Sonoma County, California Bridges: NWP Haystack Landing Bridge across the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: State Route 37 Bridge across the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.11500 Degrees, -122.50500 Degrees) State Route 37 Bridge

Just north of the NWP Railroad Bridge is the State Route 37 Bridge (27 0013) across the Petaluma River. River crossings can be quite lively during earthquakes because they are so tall and flexible over the river. As the tall piers move back and forth the shorter piers can become overstressed and collapse. 

Note how today's bridge is composed of flexible two column piers with an occasional stiff four column pier to resist the large displacements. These stiff piers were retrofitted with steel casings on the longitudinal struts. Instead of retrofitting the columns to form plastic hinges the lateral members were designed to be ductile instead. The steel casings ensure that the struts can form reliable plastic hinges as the piers move back and forth.

Sonoma County: California Bridges: State Route 37 Bridge across the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: NWP Railroad Bridge across the Petaluma River

August 2014 (38.11240, -122.50074 Degrees) Petaluma River Railroad Bridge

I traveled west from Sonoma Creek to the Northwest Pacific (NWP) Railroad Bridge at the mouth of the Petaluma River. This bridge includes long timber trestle approaches and a 246 ft long swing span. 

The NWP was started over 100 years ago by the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads in order to carry timber south from Humboldt County. Despite running out of money and being shut down under an emergency order by the Federal Railroad Administration, the railroad resumed freight service in 2011 and is even planning to provide commuter service. The Rolling Lift Bridge that we visited in Wingo also belongs to the NWP Railroad.

Today's swing bridge stays open to allow ships to travel between San Pablo Bay and the Petaluma River but it closes four or five times a day to carry freight trains. A bridge tender's house is on the swing bridge and also at the end of the trestle bridge. Note the strengthened truss panels over the support to carry the cantilevered spans.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: NWP Railroad Bridge across the Petaluma River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: East Napa Road Bridge across Nathanson Creek

August 2014 (38.29131 Degrees, -122.45157 Degrees) East Napa Road Bridge

Continuing north along Sonoma Creek into the city of Sonoma. The city is riven by so many tributaries to Sonoma Creek that there is bridge under almost every street (see Google Earth photo below). Today's bridge is a little stone arch carrying East Napa Street across Nathanson Creek. It was built in 1908 and widened (with the road) in 1934. More information on this and other bridges in the city of Sonoma can be found on the Bridgehunter Website. 

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

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

August 2014 (38.26583 Degrees, -122.46694 Degrees) Watmaugh Road Bridge

Continuing north along Sonoma Creek we arrived at the Watmaugh Road Bridge (20C0017). It's a three span bridge with a Parker through pony truss span over Sonoma Creek. Note the very large floor beams carrying the bridge deck. Every second floor beam is extra long to support a sloping transverse member that braces the truss. A plaque on a top chord mentions an award of merit that Sonoma League for Historic Preservation received in 1981 for their work to preserve this bridge. It has a sufficiency rating of only 4 out of 100 and I felt like I was risking my life standing on the narrow bridge deck because of the unending traffic.  The bridge was built in 1929, so it's 85 years old and functionally obsolete.

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

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Wingo Rolling Lift RR Bridge across a Tributary of Sonoma Creek

August 2014 (38.20971 Degrees, -122.42794 Degrees) Wingo Rolling Lift Bridge

A Scherzer rolling lift bridge is a type of bascule bridge that has a pinion in each lever arm that sits on racks on the side span. As the counterweight falls the pinions roll on the racks and raise the bascule span.

I had to walk several miles past a locked gate along the sloughs of Sonoma Creek to get to the Wingo Rolling Lift Railroad Bridge. The tracks carry the trains of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NPR) and the wooden boards can carry trucks. The bridge is hand operated with a chain to raise and lower the counterweight. Nautical charts list the bridge as movable and chalk marks on the counterweight indicate the bridge was last raised in 2007. More information on this interesting bridge is available from the Bridgehunter Website.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: Wingo Rolling Lift RR Bridge across a Tributary of Sonoma Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sonoma County, California Bridges: State Route 37 Bridge across Sonoma Creek

August 2014 (38.1559 Degrees, -122.4082 Degrees) Sonoma Creek Bridge

Today we leave San Francisco County for the bridges of Sonoma County (on the north side of San Pablo Bay). Sonoma County was settled by Native American tribes about 10,000 years ago. Spaniards and Russians were drawn to Sonoma in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Signs announcing 'El Camino Real' show where people once traveled between the Spanish missions. Forts, churches, and other buildings with onion-shaped roofs were built by Russian fur traders along the coast in the 1800s. Today the biggest industry in Sonoma is wine making.

Several large rivers flow through Sonoma County before emptying into the Bay. On the southeast side of the county Sonoma Creek is crossed by the State Route 37 Bridge (23 0063). It's a 22 span precast girder bridge supported on precast pile extensions. The bridge was built in 1969 and retrofit in 2002. The pile extensions were okay for vertical loads but were weak laterally, particularly at the lap splice. Cast-in-Steel-Shell (CISS) pile shafts were placed by the exterior girders and big new bent caps were poured to connect everything together. 

Sonoma County, California Bridges: State Route 37 Bridge across Sonoma Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.