WASHINGTON, Calif. August 26, 2016 – Nevada County is expected to begin construction in the Town of Washington on the Maybert Road Bridge at Canyon Creek beginning on August 29, 2016. The project is scheduled for completion on or before December 20, 2016.
The bridge is expected to be closed to the public during this time, and access to the Forest Service’s Golden Quartz picnic site and other properties east of the bridge will be prohibited unless in case of emergency. County staff requests that recreational traffic avoid the area until after the project is completed.
The existing Maybert Road Bridge is located approximately 3 miles east of the town of Washington. The bridge was built and designed by the Cotton Brothers and Company, a well-known bridge building firm in California and Nevada. While Caltrans Bridge Reports indicate that the current bridge was constructed in 1915, other publications suggest that the bridge may have been constructed as early as 1895. Historically, a bridge at this location connected the historical mining towns of Washington and Maybert.
While the bridge has a rich and colorful history, it has far exceeded its useful life and is now rated among the worst bridges in the State. In addition, the bridge has a long history of bridge condition issues culminating in a 3-ton load restriction in 1993 – the minimum allowed in California.
- Current bridge issues include:
- Deterioration of the timber bridge rail and decking
- Issues with lateral cross bracing between existing bridge trusses
- Inability of the interior bottom chord eye-bars to take tension.
- Issues with the bridge trusses
- Longitudinal movement of the existing bridge abutment
- Deterioration of the existing bridge abutment, including gaps in the stacked shale rocks and loosening or crushing of existing shale rocks
- Rusting of all unpainted steel truss elements
Since project award in 2008, the County has completed the project environmental clearance (2012) and right of way acquisition stages (2015). As part of project construction, the County has agreed to carefully disassemble, remove and relocate the bridge to Nevada City for future use as part of their recreational trail expansion efforts. The newly proposed bridge will mimic many of the design and aesthetic characteristics of the previous bridge while providing safe access for many decades to come.
For general project information please contact (530) 265-1411 or visit the County’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nevcopwsocial. For construction related issues or concerns or issues please call Greg Zeis at 916-367-8059.