Purpose

A primary purpose of this site is to inform the public that a highly scenic bridge railing has been approved for use in California.

We want to encourage the adoption of this newly approved railing, the California ST-10, wherever scenic vistas are threatened by new bridges with visually opaque railings. We also hope those in other states will lobby for use of the predecessor railing,  the Wyoming Rail, fully approved for use on federal highways.

This site also reports on current and past efforts to oppose Caltrans projects that would obscure and otherwise harm scenic values.

We hope to provide information and examples that will help citizens to preserve scenic values that are threatened by Caltrans projects.

A final goal is to document the public process that led to Caltrans' approval of a highly scenic railing.

I (Vince Taylor) took it upon myself to represent those who wanted a more aesthetic bridge and railing. I participated in almost every forum in which the issues were debated and where permits were issued.

This website provides a history of a victory for coastal preservation and for aesthetics over expediency and economy. It tells the story of how one individual prevailed over the largest, most powerful government agency in California.

My hope is that the information presented here will:

An abbreviated version of the Noyo Bridge story was published in Coast and Ocean, the magazine of the California Conservancy Association - The View from the Noyo Bridge, Vince Taylor, Winter 2007.

The complete story is in the Annotated History, which traces the history of the project from first public release to completion. Links in the History connect to documents, correspondence and photos. Together, these provide detailed documentation of the conflicts, positions, and roles of the major participants, with emphasis on my interaction with Caltrans and the Coastal Commission.

The Saga Continues reports continuing efforts to ensure that bridge views are preserved and bridges on scenic Highway 1 are kept in scale with the rural, two-lane road.

The Cal-Transmogrification of Scenic Bridge Railings (PDF) presents a historic overview of the deterioration of scenic railings in California, in the context of the Noyo Bridge Railing battle.

Vince Taylor
August 22, 2005

See the author's other major public service endeavor,
the Campaign to Restore Jackson Redwood State Forest.

The Noyo Bridge and scenic rail efforts were a project of the Dharma Cloud Foundation

August, 2005. The new Noyo Bridge spanning the Noyo River in Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California is complete. Everyone is delighted with the sweeping vistas from the new bridge and the elegance and aesthetics of the railings. The route to this outcome was not easy nor quick.

The bridge immediately became embroiled in controversy when first proposed by Caltrans in 1998. The existing bridge was an unusual iron-girder, two-lane bridge much loved by many in the community. It provided sweeping views of the coastal bluffs and ocean on one side and intimate views down into a working fishing harbor on the other.

The proposed bridge was a standard freeway-overpass, concrete box-girder design of immense width (wider than the Golden Gate Bridge), with solid concrete "railings" that would prevent all views of the ocean and harbor.

On the one side were local citizens who felt that Caltrans should come up with an architecturally more distinctive design, a narrower bridge, and with railings that preserved the view. On the other side were others who wanted a new four-lane bridge and the economic benefits the construction would bring, and cared not at all about the aesthetics.

The ensuing battle over the bridge and railing design went on for 2-1/2 years, and involved Caltrans, the Fort Bragg Planning Commission and City Council, the Coastal Commission, the California Transportation Commission, and numerous citizens of Mendocino County.

The final result is a testimony to the public benefit of having major government projects subject to multiple levels of review with public participation. Although the bridge width was not reduced, the overall aesthetics were greatly improved, and a truly good scenic railing has now been approved for use throughout California.

The Coastal Commission intends to require use of the new steel traffic barrier on all new bridges in the Coastal Zone. Citizens everywhere in California can ask Caltrans to use the new scenic railing wherever scenic views need to be preserved.

 See An Annotated History of the New Noyo Bridge and Scenic Railing Design

The revised design was Caltrans' response to the Commission's November, 2005, specification of four-foot shoulders and sidewalks on each side of the bridge. From the standpoint of preserving the scenic values of Ten Mile River, the Commission's latest action is mixed. Overall, though, progress is being made.
More details. Other Ten-Mile news.

Bicycle Railing Height Standard Reduced

May 2006. Perhaps the most important action for preserving vistas was taken recently by the national highway standards organization (AASHTO).

At its May, 2006 meeting, the bridge committee lowered the railing height for bicycle railings from 54" to 42", the same height as pedestrian railings. This change will improve enormously the aesthetic possibilities for railing designs. This is important for Ten Mile Bridge and all other bridges on Highway 1 where combination auto-bicycle railings are needed.

Greenwood Bridge Update

June 2006. Last Fall, Caltrans withdrew its Coastal Commission application for a permit for Greenwood Bridge, near the village of Elk. As of this date, it has not resubmitted an application.  Caltrans intends to redesign the bridge and discuss it more with the community before coming back to the Coastal Commission.
More Greenwood Bridge news

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