The California Transportation Commission has approved a $28.5 million infusion that will cover the cost of replacing Point Reyes Station’s century-old Green Bridge, which is not expected to withstand a major earthquake on the nearby San Andreas Fault. Construction is scheduled to start in June, and traffic over the bridge, which spans Lagunitas Creek, will be restricted to one way until sometime after Labor Day. After that, the crossing will be shut down for three weeks. One-way traffic will then resume for an unknown period. The work will cause major disruptions to travel at the peak of the tourist season, transforming the 10-minute ride from Inverness to Point Reyes Station into a 25-minute commute through Olema. The commission approved the allocation this month, said Matt O’Donnell, a spokesman for Caltrans. The agency had anticipated the funding, which is expected to cover the entire cost of the project. From start to finish, the installation is expected to take a year and a half. The new bridge—a nondescript concrete span—will be built off site. It will do away with the green trusses in favor of low steel railings. To meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it will have 5-foot-wide shoulders and a 6-foot sidewalk, widening the current bridge by 6 feet. Installation will be carried out by two mammoth cranes that will require the temporary relocation of power lines. Caltrans and PG&E initially intended to string them over a pole that would have required removing a redwood from beside the Point Reyes Animal Hospital, but after receiving blowback, they came up with a plan that will spare the tree. The project has been in the works for years, delayed in part by a lawsuit from locals who argued that a retrofit option was not fully evaluated and would have been adequate to address safety concerns. Because the work will require removing trees, Caltrans will plant new trees, and it will install a walking path on a county-owned lot just up the highway.
This story was corrected on Dec. 26 to reflect the primary reason for the dismissed lawsuit over the Green Bridge.