By Mark Horne
Healdsburg’s Russian River Railroad Bridge is the sole remaining example of a steel Subdivided Warren Truss bridge on the former line of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Built in 1901, the bridge has three spans supported by four concrete piers, a steel deck and superstructure on both sides of a single track.
In 2005, Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the environmental impacts from construction and operation of the entire SMART system. The Draft EIR assumed Railroad Bridge could be rehabilitated per Secretary of the Interior guidelines, but concluded necessary modifications would disrupt the historic integrity of the structure.
Archival photography of the bridge and the incorporation of “new concrete members… colored to match the existing metal [superstructure] would reduce visual impacts to less than significant…”as the rehabilitated bridge would be visually consistent with the original design. When SMART’s board of directors certified the Final EIR in 2006, the mitigation measures in the Draft & Final EIRs became conditions of project approval.
In an October 2023 workshop at the Healdsburg Senior Center, SMART’s general manager, Eddy Cumins, informed attendees that Railroad Bridge must be replaced, because the redwood piles beneath the concrete piers don’t meet current engineering standards. The replacement bridge would accommodate SMART trains as well as pedestrians and bicyclists via an extension of the Foss Creek Pathway across the Russian River.
Last month, Cumins informed the Healdsburg City Council that the agency would use progressive design-build contracting to replace Railroad Bridge and extend the SMART line to Lytton Springs Road. His remarks didn’t address whether the outsourced design of the bridge will respect or reference the original design.
If Railroad Bridge cannot be rehabilitated, can the metal superstructure on one or both of the smaller spans be salvaged and adaptively reused? Imagine walking or riding a bicycle across the Russian River on an extension of the Foss Creek Pathway, with part of the historic superstructure framing unimpeded views of the Russian River and Fitch Mountain. The same view that passengers on the Northwestern Pacific enjoyed for decades.
Will there be any opportunity for public comment on the design of the new bridge? Will SMART preserve and incorporate a key element of Healdsburg’s history in the replacement of Railroad Bridge or cut to the bottom line?
Mark Horne is a former land use planner who lives in Healdsburg.
I have heard that there is another historical item at the old Railroad Yard too. The round turntable that turned cars to face the opposite direction. Possibly even locomotives too. I was at a City Council meeting in the early 80s when the topic of the Depot future was under review. At that time there was a group of retired railroad employees who were offering to assist with the restoration of it. While they may no longer be with us, I hope there is another railroad history group around. Or, even the general public. We shouldn’t forget our Depot and Railtosd yard handled a major part of transporting lumber from timber harvesting and Mills from our North areas into the Bay Area. Basalt Rock even supplied River Gravel for the Golden Gate Bridge Tower Supports and both Anchorage Structures
Good grief! Do we live in a museum? The restoration of the 1921 Memorial Truss Bridge was bad enough. It’s too narrow for buses and has dangerous sight lines. We live in 2024, not the past. SMART should build a safe new bridge. Are we all supposed to drive Model T’s and live in 1923? Do you want coal-fired steam engines pulling the SMART trains over the bridge? The past is dead. Let it lie.
How true Tim..the past is dead for Healdsburg. Just look at the Mill District design. Isn’t it a representation of the New Healdsburg. Historical homes are being replaced with modern homes. So the Historical nature of Healdsburg will be wiped away.
Heather, Healdsburg now has a new Historical nature. The town is now a glitzy international tourist attraction where 63% of the homes are owned by people who don’t live in them. Businesses are starting to close in Hburg. The tourist/real estate boom is ending. Healdsburg’s new history will be of a boom town turned ghost town when the crash comes.