Mayor Wood: 'No doubt there is a love affair many people in this community have with the bridge'

The Healdsburg Memorial Bridge suffers from no shortage of admirers and those who want to save it.

The 89-year-old landmark over the Russian River may be rusted and corroded. But at a workshop held Wednesday evening to help determine the fate of the span, the overwhelming sentiment of those who came was to save it, not demolish it.

"I haven't heard anyone here adamant about tearing the bridge down. Obviously, they're very committed to saving the bridge," said Mayor Jim Wood, one of more than 50 people who turned out for an open house to help identify what should be done with it.

"There is no doubt there is a love affair many people in this community have with the bridge," Wood said, although he acknowledged he has heard minority opinions before in favor of replacing it with a modern structure.

Over the past few days, more than 150 people signed an online petition to save the bridge, according to Mel Amato, the retired Healdsburg electrical engineer whose work was instrumental in getting Caltrans to modify the poor rating it assigned the vintage steel-truss crossing, also known as the Healdsburg Avenue Bridge.

Its admirers describe it as a "classic" and an "icon," that evokes childhood memories of learning to swim at its base, or even forbidden jumps from it by teenage boys.

"It's a great cultural piece of the community. It's also a symbol," said Healdsburg resident Poss Pragoff. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to replace it."

A 1979 Caltrans report almost doomed the bridge, giving it the lowest rating of any in the county.

But that was revised two years ago, after it was discovered the agency miscalculated the location of the pins on the truss connections. As a result, Caltrans acknowledged the bridge can carry all legal loads, including semi-trucks and trailers.

But because of its narrowness, the city has retained the posted weight restrictions that exclude big trucks and fire engines.

The bridge is still considered vulnerable to earthquakes and erosion that could undermine the stability of its wooden pilings.

Consulting engineers hired by the city are working to again assess the bridge's stability.

Built in 1921, it was the main southern gateway to Healdsburg before the freeway was built to the west.

In 1981, the city inherited the bridge from the county. Periodically when attempts were made by city officials to address the question of its stability and whether it should be fixed or replaced, there would be an outcry from preservationists.

Resolving the span's future is now the second-highest priority in the City Council's stated top 10 goals.

A month ago, the council approved a three-phased $2.8 million contract with Omni Means Ltd. of Roseville, a transportation and civil engineering firm, intended to settle the question of whether the bridge should be spruced up, torn down and replaced with a new crossing, relocated or retained as a pedestrian/bike path. Consultants are also expected to identify environmental impacts and funding for the preferred alternative.

The council is expected to choose the preferred alternative by late summer.

The cost of rehabilitating the bridge has been estimated at $13 million, while replacing it with a wider, modern span was estimated at $23 million several years ago.

Funding for either project remains uncertain.

You can reach Staff Writer

Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.