The Albion River Bridge is a wooden deck truss bridge crossing the

Albion River The Albion River is an river in Mendocino County, California. The river drains about on the Mendocino Coast and empties into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Albion, California, where California State Route 1 crosses it on the Albion River ...

Mendocino County, California Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

. It is the only remaining

wooden bridge A timber bridge or wooden bridge is a bridge that uses timber or wood as its principal structural material. One of the first forms of bridge, those of timber have been used since ancient times. History The most ancient form of timber bridge is ...

on California State Route 1;. dramatic views of the bridge are visible from the nearby town of Albion, California. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in July 2017.

Predecessors

The Albion River has been crossed by a bridge since 1861, when a state franchise was granted to the Albion Bridge Company (renewed in 1863 to the Albion River Bridge Company). However, until the present bridge was built in 1944, the crossing was low, and could be reached only by treacherous grades up and down the bluffs on either side of the river.

Construction and specifications

The present span was opened in 1944. Because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

concrete and steel shortages, it was built of salvaged wood treated with a

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

azole Azoles are a class of five-membered heterocyclic compounds containing a nitrogen atom and at least one other non-carbon atom (i.e. nitrogen, sulfur, or oxygen) as part of the ring. Their names originate from the Hantzsch–Widman nomenclature. T ...

preservative A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by ...

. It includes a steel center truss that was also salvaged, possibly from an older bridge in Oregon,Albion Bridge
Scenic Bridge Railings, retrieved 2010-08-22. supported by concrete towers. It is long and its deck is wide.Albion River Bridge
Historical Bridges of the U.S., retrieved 2010-08-21.. As of 2000, it carries approximately 3,200 vehicles per day.

Proposed replacement

In 2009, the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacr ...

(Caltrans) proposed to replace the bridge and the nearby bridge over Salmon Creek to the south. The timbers of the existing bridge remain in good condition, but the central steel truss has been corroded and needs replacement, and the bridge deck does not meet modern safety standards for its width and rail design, rendering it functionally obsolete. The planned replacement bridge would feature a wider deck with separate pedestrian walkways. An open house to show residents the plans for a new bridge was held in 2014, with the start of construction estimated for 2018.. Caltrans has estimated that a replacement bridge could be in place by 2021. However, in 2015, Albion residents opposed to replacing the bridge filed to have it listed in the

, which could potentially slow any replacement.. The bridge was added to the National Register on July 31, 2017.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in California Bridges completed in 1944 Wooden bridges in California Truss bridges in the United States Bridges in Mendocino County, California California State Route 1 1944 establishments in California Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Mendocino County, California Steel bridges in the United States