Monte Rio’s Main Street Bridge damaged, partially closed

UPDATED March 31, 2023: This story contains new information.

A temporary traffic signal will be installed at the damaged Main Street Bridge in Monte Rio, authorities said, to help ease vehicle flow while the bridge’s long term future is evaluated.

The eastbound lane of the bridge over Dutch Bill Creek has been closed since Wednesday after an onrushing log jam pushed in one of its supporting columns.

Only westbound traffic has been permitted across the bridge, but eastbound drivers have been crossing it anyway instead of using a signposted Fir Road detour, Johannes Hoevertsz, director of the Sonoma County Department of Public Infrastructure, said Friday.

“It’s just human nature” he said, “and they’re being very courteous.”

The 123-foot-long bridge, just down the street from Bartlett’s Market, is commonly called Dutch Bill Creek Bridge by locals. The bridge is supported by three sets of eight reinforced concrete piles. The damaged pile is an outer one on the middle set.

“It got hit really, really hard,” Hoevertsz said.

Engineers are evaluating the 70-year-old bridge to see whether it can be repaired or needs replacing, Hoevertsz said.

Permits from the county and -- because work in and around the creek will be necessary to clear vegetation -- likely the state Department of Fish and Game and the Army Corps of Engineers will be required before the traffic signal can be installed, Hoevertsz said.

In the meantime, the bridge is being inspected and carefully monitored to make sure it is not settling, a potential precursor to deck failure.

“We don’t have any indication of that yet,” Hoevertsz said. “There is enough redundancy with the piles. But if it happens, we need to shut down the bridge.”

The damaged structure is just the latest storm-related blow to hit the beleaguered west county.

Two major road washouts on Moscow Road — one caused by 2019 flooding and the other by storms earlier this year — have led to access problems for hundreds of area residents.

“Even our tremendously resilient west county community — is feeling frustrated by the number of road failures we’ve had and the accelerated deterioration of our pavement,” said County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose 5th District takes in Monte Rio.

Hoevertsz said a permanent fix “could be another two or three years if we don’t have a way to do it quicker,” in large part because the creek presents environmental challenges that will need addressing, and also because the process of Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded repairs can move at a glacial pace.

Hopkins on Wednesday said her community can’t wait that long.

She said she will be talking with county officials “about the latest failure and to talk about possible financing mechanisms and the timelines for getting it repaired.”

“These roads are all critical evacuation routes so we need to be able to move swiftly and effectively on repairs, and unfortunately FEMA is not set up to do that,” she said.

Two weeks ago, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved $1.5 million in county funds to repair the most recent Moscow Road washout, in advance of getting federal approval for FEMA reimbursement funds.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jeremyhay