I’ve managed to get photos of all the bridges over the Russian River except for a couple of railroad bridges that I could find no vantage from which I could even see them. Here are the rest.
The first bridge over the Russian River is at Tomki Road, north of Ukiah. Not much to the river here, since it’s only a few hundred yards long at this point.
A few miles south, there is the East Road crossing from 1990.
Then down to the East School Way crossing in Redwood Valley.
Another shot of this one. Sigh, since i’ve got too old to bushwhack, there was no place i could access to get a good shot.
Then the CA-20 east bridge, just north of Calpella. This is a big bridge from 1991, but again i found it damn near impossible to photograph owing to there being no good vantages i could get close to in my car. Here’s the best i could get.
Here’s a shot from a tiny little dirt road leading down to the river.
And one of the very beginning of the bridge from the east end.
There is also a railroad bridge immediately north of this one, but i couldn’t even see it. Any of it.
Then south into Calpella and east on Moore Street for the next bridge, from 1958.
Next, the 1987 bridge on Lake Mendocino Drive, north of Ukiah.
Just below this bridge, the East Fork of the river joins the main branch, and since the East Fork accounts for the majority of the water in the upper third of the river, i’ll take a detour here and get the bridges over the East Fork.
Here’s a shot of the CA-20 bridge over the East Fork from 2000 just east of Lake Mendocino, which was formed by damming the East Fork.
Closer. You can see from the water mark that when the lake fills, it extends an arm under the bridge.
And now, off north onto East Road for this 1991 bridge over the East Fork.
Now lets drive north on East Road and hook a left into Potter Valley, where on Main Street we find the splendid 1928 Tahto Bridge over the East Fork.
The other side, a better shot.
Then north on Eel River Road and off to the west on Gibson Lane for this cute little bridge from 1955.
Other side.
And that’s the first bridge over the East Fork. Now back to the the main branch of the river just below the point at which the East Fork enters. This is the 1986 Vichy Springs Road bridge, east of Ukiah.
And then, the 1954 Talmage Road Bridge just a bit south of Ukiah.
East in Hopland on CA-175 for a couple of miles for the Hopland Russian River Bridge from 1939.
Another shot of the above.
A few miles south of Hopland, US-101 crosses over to the east bank of the river on the Russian River Bridge from 1933. This is a big old bridge, but it’s hard to see from any point at which you can stop your car, and i couldn’t get a good photo.
However,on a later trip i was able to get a much better shot of this bridge by pulling off illegally onto the shoulder.
There’s also a railroad crossing just north of this that i couldn’t see.
US-101 crosses back over to the west side of the river at Geysers Road, another bridge that’s real hard to photograph.
Down to Cloverdale and east on 1st Street a couple of miles we find the Crocker Road Bridge from 1938, a metal 10 Panel Rivet-Connected Polygonal Warren Pony Truss.
The next bridge is a few miles south on CA-128 east of Geyserville.
The next one south is the Jimtown Bridge from 1949 on Alexander Valley Road east of Healdsburg. This is a highly unusual continuous Warren pony truss that also has cantilevered girder approach spans.
Another. Love the trusses on this one.
A closeup of a truss.
Then, on Healdsburg Avenue in downtown Healdsburg, the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge from 1921, a metal 10 Panel Pin-Connected Pennsylvania Through Truss.
And immediately north of it, this railroad bridge from 1921. It’s unusual in that the two spans are of different construction. The larger is a metal 7 Panel Pin-Connected Camelback Through Truss, while the smaller is a metal 4 Panel Rivet-Connected Pratt Through Truss.
Another shot of this bridge.
Just a mile or so south of the Memorial Bridge there is an enormous bridge over the river on US-101. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to photograph without a drone.
I thought i’d be able to get a good shot of it from the pedestrian walkway on the Memorial Bridge, but no.
For the next bridge, head west on River Road toward Guerneville and turn off on Wohler Road. The Wohler Bridge from 1921 is a metal 10 Panel Pin-Connected Parker Camelback Through Truss. It’s a one-lane bridge, so you have to pause at your end and see whether someone has already started crossing from the other end. On a foggy morning like this one, you need to look carefully.
Now down to the far end, where there’s some sun burning through.
Here it is on a sunny morning.
Another.
The next bridge to the west is on River Road, the Hacienda Bridge from 1914, a metal 7 Panel Pin-Connected Camelback Through Truss. I know it’s possible to get good photos of this one, both from beaches on the river and, using a telephoto lens, from hilltops to the southeast, but this is all i could get on this expedition.
Here’s a shot from the other end on a sunny day.
It’s such a handsome bridge, though, that i’ll cheat and throw in this unattributed pic from the citydata.com website.
Westward to downtown Guerneville, where there are two bridges over the river. The historic steel bridge from 1922 is a metal 7 Panel Pin-Connected Camelback Through Truss. It’s no longer fit for vehicular traffic but still in use for pedestrians.
From its roadbed.
And here’s the new bridge, built in 1996, as seen from the old bridge.
Now west to Monte Rio for the Bohemian Highway Bridge from 1934, a metal 6 Panel Rivet-Connected Pratt Full-Slope Pony Truss.
And from the other side.
Next, a few miles farther west to Duncans Mills, where we find this modern bridge leading to Moscow Road. It’s not not exactly a bridge to nowhere, but all Moscow Road does is lead back to Monte Rio on the south side of the river. Not much there there, and i can only surmise that someone very powerful lives in one of the houses along the riverbank near Duncans Mills, someone too powerful to be forced to use the Monte Rio bridge to reach his house.
Finally, on out to the coast, where we find this CA-1 bridge over the mouth of the river.
That’s it, folks, all the bridges over the Russian River except for a couple of railroad bridges. Maybe one of these days i’ll buy a drone, learn to fly it, and take better shots of these bridges. As it is, my next project will be to shoot all the bridges over the Sacramento River.