Santa Ynez Valley residents have called on Caltrans to protect or at least replicate “a truly historic bridge” built more than 100 years and used by pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists in Los Olivos to avoid Highway 154.
Caltrans hosted a virtual public workshop Tuesday about the proposed Alamo Pintado Creek Pedestrian Bridge Project on the south side of Highway 154.
“This bridge is a valued community recreational resource and part of a historically used public trail,” Mike Hecker said, speaking on behalf of the Santa Barbara County Riding and Hiking Trails Advisory Committee.
The existing pedestrian bridge — 92 feet long by 28 feet wide and spanning the Alamo Pintado Creek — dates back to 1912, according to Caltrans officials.
“In general, the bridge has outlived its lifespan,” project manager Lisa Lowerison said, adding that most bridges today are designed to last 75 years.
In 1971, a new bridge was installed upstream, and local residents persuaded the state to keep the existing structure for pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists.
Efforts to shore up the slowly sinking structure have failed over time, making the bridge unsafe, Caltrans contends, with a 2011 inspection deeming the bridge “no longer stable.”
Caltrans has determined that retrofitting the bridge would not be possible since it would require building foundations in the creek channel, affecting the flow of water.
The state agency has prepared a mitigated negative declaration suggesting no signficant impacts from the project instead of a more comprehensive environmental impact report.
Hecker questioned whether Caltrans has adequately studied the environmental aspects of the “community-altering project.”
Construction for the $3.8 million project would begin in April 2023 and end six months later.
But this isn’t any bridge, with speakers noting its historic role and unique style.
“We really value its character, not only because it was somewhat of a groundbreaking engineering project using the arch jacks at this time, but also because of its unique character using the Franciscan assemblage stones,” said Lansing Duncan, a member of the county Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee. “That really makes it our bridge. It’s a bridge that you would find in the Santa Ynez Valley.”
Residents do not favor removing the bridge and urged the state to at least replace it. That’s because the structure also serves a vital role — keeping horse riders, pedestrians and cyclists off Highway 154.
“This is an inherently dangerous place, and if you make no provision for what cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians are going to do, you’re going to drive them onto the old 1971 bridge, which has no provisions for them — no sidewalks,” Duncan said. “This is exactly why the community wanted to save the old bridge.”
In addition to being concerned about the lack of replacement, residents had thoughts about the design of a new bridge.
“I just wanted to reinforce the importance of having a bridge in this location for the safety of the community. It’s used on a daily basis,” Los Olivos resident Mark Herthel said.
He reminded Caltrans that the route is popular with horse riders and asked to ensure a new bridge is equestrian safe.
“Some of the pictures (of) narrow bridges, metal bridges could be quite problematic with horses crossing them,” Herthel said.
Caltrans has proposed bridges of either 12 feet or 10 feet in width.
Local residents also asked to have to say in the new look for the replacement bridge, with the state proposing either a steel bridge or another considering aesthetics.
Ballard resident Chip Wullbrandt asked for a replacement bridge that mimics the design and width of the existing structure.
“You need to get this back to as close as possible in appearance to the old bridge. I would urge recycling of the old stone,” he said.
The project’s draft mitigated declaration can be found by clicking here.
Public comment on the Caltrans proposal must be submitted by Oct. 9 by sending mail to Jason Wilkinson, Central Region Environmental, California Department of Transportation, 50 Higuera St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Comments via email can be sent by the deadline to jason.wilkinson@dot.ca.gov.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.