As a thirteen-year-old (42 years ago), I rode my 10-speed Schwinn Varsity all over this Valley, hunting and fishing the creeks with my close friends. At that period of my life, I was a sensible and sober young man and I remember well my first meeting as a cyclist with the Watmaugh Bridge (although I had made this crossing previously many times as a passenger in a car, the impression and impact of this situation was not foreseen). It was mid-morning and I was separated from my friends as I rode up from Broadway on Watmaugh Road and, as a sensitive lad, the realization of the palpable lethal risk involved in the making of this crossing caused me to pause before this intimidating steel and concrete structure – the Beast before me that demanded my utmost respect to secure a possible safe passage across its treacherous span. After some seemingly long moments I forced myself to cross the bridge.
I revisited the bridge in November 2010 and as I carefully and quickly walked across it, I noticed a severed and smashed side view mirror at my feet and a plastic bag full of black walnuts. A total length of 240 feet, beginning at the mouth of the 40-foot long guard rails at 27-feet wide and tapering to a mere 21-foot width does not provide enough room for a bare minimum of safety. At 10.5 feet per lane, semi-trucks with trailers are eight to nine feet wide, Fedex and UPS vans are eight feet wide and full-sized pick ups and vans are seven feet wide. All these vehicles frequently cross over this span. The angle of approach makes for a partially blind turn and a driver approaching the bridge from either side cannot see what is coming or what is about to enter onto the bridge until the driver is past and inside the outer guard rail – not much time to stop a catastrophe. To walk across the 240-foot gauntlet takes about one minute and vehicles turning west onto Watmaugh Road from Broadway take about 30 seconds to get onto the bridge. So even if you looked back toward Broadway and saw nothing before walking across the bridge you could get caught on the narrow span.
Is it logical or in the best interest of the public to suppress or ignore the safety issues concerning the bridge?
Is the replacement or retro fitting of this bridge with space on either side for pedestrians or cyclists a logical and responsible act by the county of Sonoma? And has the county already considered the value and costs involved in the replacement of, as opposed to the reconditioning of, the bridge with pedestrian/cyclist lanes?
I’ve noticed that most drivers speed around blind curves without care or caution for what is not seen, a sign of the times on many levels. How about posting signs such as these on both sides of the bridge:
25 MPH
Danger Narrow Bridge Ahead
Cyclists and Pedestrians Use an Alternate Route or Proceed with Extreme Caution.
When the historian, sentimentalists and those who benefit from keeping the Watmaugh Bridge are done doing their thing with this bridge, it will still be the Beast it has long been. Secure the Construction Bonds before it is too late!
John Duffy
Sonoma
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