December 2016

Ummm, well, not exactly.  I’m not Alex Jones and don’t put things onto this website that i know to be false, but i did fall victim to some inaccurate information and, worse, perpetuated it in my recent blog posts describing my getting photos of all the bridges over the Sacramento River.  Turns out that i don’t, in fact, have them all.

I’d DuckDuckGone crosseyed looking for a complete list of crossings of this river, and the only attempt at it i found was this wikipedia List of Crossings of the Sacramento River, which i foolishly at first assumed was authoritative like the stunning List of Crossings of the Willamette River that i’d relied on to do my essay on Portland’s bridges.

Unfortunately, the Sacramento River list does not include railroad bridges, which is a shame because they’re often quite interesting structurally even though they range from difficult to impossible to photograph.  After i’d done my photography in Redding and discovered the Redding Trestle, i hacked my way into the source code for the list and added a row for the trestle.  Then later i discovered that the list omitted the handsome Ribbon Bridge, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge about three miles upstream, so i went ahead and added that to the wikipedia article even though i’d not actually seen it because i’d been relying on that damn link to spot the bridges for me.

Still later, it came to my attention that the Sacramento River does not begin at Lake Shasta but rather feeds it, so i’ll have to make another trip up there to get the bridges over the upper reaches of the river.  Sigh.  So stay tuned.  I edited the introduction to the list to clarify that it covered only bridges from the Ribbon Bridge south.  If i live long enough i’ll add to the list the bridges north of the Ribbon Bridge and perhaps even the railroad bridges that i’m able to photograph.

And since i don’t have any more bridge shots now, here’s a pic of one of my favorite fences in a field west of JoAnn’s place, all green from the winter rains.

I’ll be wearing my Bernie t-shirt until it’s hanging in tatters.

 

On my first Sacramento River bridge expedition, i started at the mouth and worked my way up the river to Sacramento.  On my second expedition, i started at the first bridge, in Redding and meandered south until darkness fell.

On this foray, i’m starting where i left off in Sacramento and going north to get the remaining bridges.

When i was last in Sacramento, i had failed to get a shot of the US-50 bridge from its west bank, so this time i crossed the bridge and looked for vantages on the east bank.  Ha!

This is yet another modern bridge for which very little information is available online other than that it was built in 1966 and is named the Pioneer Memorial Bridge.  I did find this aerial shot, obviously taken a number of years ago.  Here’s an east bank shot.

 

 

And then, if you wriggle your way back under US-50 to Front Street, you can see the whole thing from the north.

 

 

The glory of Front Street is that it flanks a lovely esplanade along the river leading to the Tower Bridge from 1934, a vertical-lift drawbridge that is locally beloved.  And for good reason.

 

 

A shot into the mouth.

 

 

And an art shot.

 

Oh, and here’s a video clip of the bridge opening.

 

At this point, we are in the “Old Sacramento” historical district, quaint old buildings along the riverfront now dedicated to shops helping tourists shed excess dollars but thankfully punctuated with sidewalk cafes and restaurants.

Just a few hundred yards to the north is the 1911 I Street Bridge, a double-deck swing drawbridge with railroad tracks on the lower lever and a vehicular roadway with two pedestrian walkways on the upper.

 

Want to see it in operation?  Click here.

 

 

The esplanade is a pleasure, dotted with delights.

 

 

The next bridge is a few miles north on I-80, the rather nice Caltrans Maintenance Worker Memorial Bridge from 1971, also known as the Bryte Bend Bridge.

 

 

A bit farther to the north is the 1969 Vietnam Servicemen Memorial Bridge on I-5, also known as the Elkhorn Bridge.  Some of these modern bridges are actually quite handsome, but my goodness, to get a vantage for this one required a lot of tedious grinding around at the airport before i finally found the little access road that leads down to the river.

 

Here’s a shot from underneath.  No, it is not a swing bridge, that’s an expansion joint.

 

 

Now let’s head north on SR-113 to Knight’s Landing for the eponymous bridge, a 1933 double-leaf bascule bridge.

 

 

My intention at this point was to head north on SR-113 and west on SR-20 to the Meridian Bridge.  Alas, there was a bit of a detour.  Remember the old adage that the most dangerous animal in the jungle is a second lieutenant with a map?

Well, i’m so old that i hate to go tediously pecking around with my Garmin device, which does not allow me to just ask for directions to the next bridge, so i relied on maps and my sense of direction and ended up in Daniel Boone’s situation.  He was once asked if he’d ever been lost and replied no, but he had on a number of occasions been bewildered.

Yes, so i found myself driving around in a small city and so bewildered that i had to stop at a store and ask the counterman what town i was in.  I was astonished when he told me Yuba City, as i’d had no plans to go there.  Fortunately, he was able to give me clear directions to SF-20, which i then followed west until i reached the Meridian Bridge, a gorgeous cable-stayed, swing drawbridge from 1977.  What a wonderful bridge!

 

 

And here’s a video clip of it in operation.  I’ll add that there were formerly drawbridges much farther north, but all those above this point have been replaced with fixed bridges.  Since there is no longer much river traffic this far north, this bridge and the Knight’s Landing Bridge are accused of being opened only for an annual inspection.  However, there is still robust traffic from Sacramento south, so all those drawbridges are frequently opened.  This one’s so beautiful i have to do a closeup.

 

 

Now north on SR-45 to Colusa.  I just love these little country roads in the delta. They’re smooth and (mostly) straight, and the locals are quite clear that those silly little speed limit signs are only for the tourists, so all you have to do is just fall in behind a farmer in his pickup to whiz along at 65 or 70, confident that he knows when to slow down.

In Colusa there was a handsome Pratt through truss swing drawbridge from 1901, but it was replaced in 1980 by this utilitarian fixed thing.

 

 

Continuing north on SR-45, we head east on SR-162 toward Butte City for this rather plain highway bridge from 1961.

 

 

But wait, the other end of it is much more interesting.

 

 

Then we continue north on SR-45 to the 1971 Ord Ferry Road Bridge.

 

 

Finally, north on SR-45 to Hamilton City, where SR-32 crosses the river on what was formerly the Gianella Bridge.  Click on that link for an interesting story.  Alas, that marvelous 1911 swing-span drawbridge was demolished and replaced in 1987 by this.

 

 

Hamilton City is only a dozen miles south of Corning, but i was too tired to detour up there to hit Bartel’s Giant Burger and elected to just drive straight home on I-5, sated by my sense of accomplishment over having photographed all the bridges over the Sacramento River.

The project has been enormous fun, and i hope it will provide some entertainment for my readers.

Hmmm, maybe for my next Sacramento River project i could float down the river from Redding in a little boat with a tall mast, demanding that all the drawbridges be opened for me.  I should probably check before i set out to see whether the bastards have put in a dam above the Meridian Bridge.

I’m already thanking God i can pass for white.

My latest bridge photography excursion involved jumping into the Prius and heading up to Redding on I-5 with the cruise control set to 73 and 3/4ths MPH.  When i exited the freeway in Redding, i turned off the cruise control and began looking for vantages from which i could photograph bridges.

Working my way down the Sacramento River, i started with the 1915 Diestelhorst Bridge now dedicated to pedestrians and bicyclists and popularly known as the Diesel Horse Bridge.  Since color photography didn’t exist in 1915, my shot is in black and white.

 

Paralleling the old bridge a hundred feet downstream is its 1996 replacement, the Lake Redding Bridge, more commonly known as the New Diestelhorst Bridge and also a concrete arch construction that “reflects and respects” the old bridge.  Here it is from the east with the support columns of the old bridge visible beneath it.

 

And from the foot of the Diesel Horse bridge, flanked by its edge and the Redding Trestle.

 

Immediately downstream is the spectacular 1939 Redding Trestle, a hundred-foot-high, four-fifths-mile-long railroad bridge that is an absolute joy to behold from just about any angle.  Here’s a closeup of the river span.

 

 

A shot of the north end.

 

 

 

About a mile downstream is the 1935 Redding Police Officer Owen “Ted” Lyon Memorial Bridge.  Here it is from the east.

 

And from the west.  Close observers will gnotice the gnomon of the Sundial Bridge sticking up behind the north end of the bridge.  The gravel bar is in there because we’re at the beginning of the rainy season and the river is still quite low.

 

Speaking of Santiago Calatrava’s 2004 Sundial Bridge, it is illegal to visit Redding without paying tribute to its most famous bridge, and since i didn’t want to be cast into outer darkness, here’s a shot from this trip.

 

One more.  I photographed this bridge to pieces in “Sundial Bridge“, and a couple of my photos of it appeared in Turning Torso, José Miguel Hernández Hernández’ book on Santiago Calatrava’s work.

 

 

The next bridge downstream is on SR 44 and does not, as best i can determine, have a name.  The only datum i could find was that it was built in 1964.

 

Time for breakfast.  I don’t eat in national chains, so my heart leaped when i spotted Sweetie’s, a local restaurant with a full parking lot.  I was seduced by their Smoked Pork Chop Benedict with country fries.  Quite tasty, and sure did stick to my ribs.

 

Then, in southern Redding, the Cypress Avenue Bridge from 2011.

 

Now, down at the southern edge of Redding, the South Bonnyview Road Bridge from 1978 with a twin span added in 1997.

 

Now down to the north edge of Anderson, where I-5 crosses the river on a bridge completed in 2000.  Alas, the riverbanks here are lined either by trees or by large houses with tall fences, so i could find no point from which to photograph the bridge.  See what i mean?

 

However, the 2010 North Street Bridge in Anderson had a better vantage.

And an even better vantage from the other side.

 

Next, over to eastern Anderson for the 1970 Deschutes Road Bridge.

 

Then following little country roads southwards to the 1970 Ash Creek Road Bridge, about which i can find no information other than its mention in the List of Crossings of the Sacramento River.

 

Other side.

 

Time for a break from the less interesting modern bridges.  Let’s go south to the Jelly’s Ferry Road Bridge, a 5 span Parker through truss bridge from 1949.

 

From underneath.

 

And a shot of the end.

 

Now more country roads south to the 1989 Bend Ferry Road Bridge.

 

A word on nomenclature about these “Ferry Road” bridges.   There were originally ferries across the rivers, and they were gradually replaced by bridges that often got named after the ferry roads.

 

Now back onto I-5 to just north of Red Bluff for this 1964 bridge on I-5.

 

Other side.

 

Now into Red Bluff for the 1938 Antelope Boulevard Bridge.  Here’s an end shot.

 

And a fuller view from the other side.

 

Back onto the Interstate to just south of Red Bluff for another 1964 bridge on I-5.

 

The bonus here is that an old railroad bridge runs immediately north of the highway bridge.

 

Next, down to Tehama for the 1977 Tehama Bridge.

 

From the other end.

 

And finally, into Corning for a stop at Bartel’s Giant Burger.  Alas, that smoked pork chop Benedict i had for lunch was still sticking with me, so for the first time at Bartel’s i skipped the burger and just had a chocolate milkshake.  Hadn’t had one of those in ages, and it sure was good.

That’s it for this bridge expedition.  Stay tuned for the next, when i’ll capture the remaining bridges over the Sacramento River.

In a desperate attempt to keep my mind off the approaching apocalypse, i mounted another bridge expedition, this time to photograph all the bridges over the Sacramento River.

Starting at the mouth of the river, the first bridge is in Rio Vista on CA-12, the 1960 Helen Madere Memorial Bridge, a vertical-lift drawbridge, and it’s a beauty.  Here it is from the bank of the river at the west end.

 

And a closeup of the towers.

 

And now, crossing the bridge, a shot from the east bank of the river.

 

Closer

 

Now we head north on CA-160 to Isleton, where we cross the 1923 Isleton Bridge, an unmodified example of the Strauss heel trunnion bascule bridge with the bascule portion freshly painted bright yellow.

 

 

 

The bascules alone.

 

A closeup of the mechanism.

 

Finally, across the bridge for a full shot from the other side.

 

 

On north on CA-160 to Walnut Grove for the 1951 Walnut Grove Bridge, also one of Strauss’ heel trunion bascule bridges.  Strauss got a major share of the drawbridge market for many years with this design.  They were ugly but cheaper than the alternatives and superbly functional.  He dotted the country with dozens of them, and many of them are still hard at work with little repair after nearly a century.

 

A closeup.

 

And here’s the humongous counterweight.

 

The next bridge north on CA-160 over the Sacramento is at Paintersville, but a couple of miles before i got to it, i crossed this beauty.

 

Turns out it’s the Steamboat Slough Bridge over, yes, Steamboat Slough just as it pours into the Sacramento River.  It’s from 1924 and is yet another of Strauss’ heel trunnion bascule bridges still in great working order after being refurbished in 1950.  Here’s a shot from the end.

 

And a counterweight shot.  Owing to all the trees along the levee, i couldn’t get a landscape mode shot.

 

Now up CA-160 another mile to the Paintersville Bridge from 1923, another of Strauss’ work.  It was rehabilitated in 1952 and tuned up in 2000.

 

An end shot.  And yes, it’s another Strauss heel trunnion bascule bridge.  They just keep on flapping their bascules.

 

And finally, zooming in on the counterweight.

 

A few more miles north on CA-160 we find the 1929 Freeport Bridge. yet another Strauss workhorse and, like the others here at the bottom end of the river, the bascule portion is virtually unmodified although it didn’t get the yellow paint job.

 

This one was a bit harder to photograph, but here’s a closeup.

 

The next bridge north is in Sacramento, the Pioneer Memorial Bridge on I-80.  Ain’t hardly nothing written about this bridge, so about all i could find was its name and that it was built in 1966.

I drove around quite a bit at the western end of this bridge trying to find a vantage from which to photograph it.  Here’s all i could get before i realized that what i really needed more than a shot of this bridge was a bathroom.

 

And my selected bathroom was in an Indian restaurant, where, screw the buffet, i got them to make me some saag paneer with a piece of naan.  Since they did it from scratch, it took quite some time while i studied maps trying to figure out how to get to a vantage for the bridge.

Finally, they brought it out, and it was delicious, but when i returned to my car i realized that the sun was about to set.

So that’s it for this excursion.  Next week i’ll go back to the above bridge and then take my search for bridges and good Indian cuisine farther north along the Sacramento.  Stay tuned.