California’s Mendocino Coast is a precipitous reminder that there’s no farther west to go. Here, the land plunges into the Pacific, met by dramatic bluffs as Highway 1 clings to the edge. Albion — 17 miles south of Fort Bragg, the county’s coastal hub — is easy to miss: a headland jutting west into the sea, an inland road leading to a town center of just over 150 residents.
The clearest marker for the community is the Albion River Bridge. One hundred fifty feet above the water, it carries Highway 1 across the river mouth, with Albion’s homes visible on the bluffs to the east, campgrounds tucked below, and the river itself stretching west to the sea.
This bridge is no ordinary crossing. Built in 1944, it is the last timber truss superstructure owned by the state of California still carrying highway traffic — a historic landmark that locals consider part of their identity. Picture a bridge high above the Albion River that looks like something out of a black-and-white Western: less like modern highway infrastructure, more like the skeletal framework of an old railroad trestle. Weathered wooden beams crisscross in triangles, forming a lattice that holds the roadway high above the water. That’s what the Albion River Bridge looks like.
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Set against grassy headlands, the Albion River Bridge carries Highway 1 across the river far below toward the Pacific.
Courtesy of Rita Crane
But the state says its days are numbered. Caltrans asserts the bridge is in disrepair and potentially dangerous, and after 10 years of public process, it has officially unveiled designs for a modern replacement: seismically sound, easier to maintain, built to standard specifications but utterly lacking in any design poetry or marvel.
Albion residents aren’t ready to see the bridge replaced. Jim Heid, an outspoken member of the Albion Bridge Stewards, told SFGATE, “It’s hard to look at a photo of Albion that doesn’t also show the bridge.” To him and many others, the structure is inseparable from the town’s identity. As Heid put it, the bridge “is more than just a way of getting across the river. It is an emblem of the community.”
The Albion River Bridge’s unusual form reflects its wartime origins. Built while the United States was still embroiled in World War II, the bridge was designed with timber because concrete and steel were needed for the war effort. As Caltrans documentation explains: “In an effort to conserve concrete and steel materials for the war effort, the original proposed concrete arch structure design was abandoned, and the bridge was redesigned to predominantly use timber.” The single-span riveted steel deck truss at its core was recycled from an old bridge on the South Fork of the Feather River, about 200 miles east. Heid told SFGATE that one of the engineers who worked on the Albion River Bridge had also assisted in the construction of the original Bay Bridge.
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Workers in 1944 construct the Albion River Bridge’s unusual timber-and-steel framework directly over the river mouth, a wartime design shaped by material shortages.
Courtesy of the Albion Bridge Stewards
Built in 1944 during World War II, the Albion River Bridge spans the river between green coastal bluffs. It remains California’s last timber truss highway bridge.
Emanuel Fritz/Berkeley Library Digital Collections
Today, it remains the only wooden trestle bridge left on Highway 1, and its significance has grown beyond its basic function. “The Albion River Bridge appears on the side of our fire trucks,” Heid said. “… The timber bridge alongside the little cluster of houses that make up Albion Village are just such a kind of a perfect visual complement to one another.”
But inspection reports paint a grim picture. Caltrans describes the bridge as being in “poor and deteriorating condition,” never designed for the “harsh marine environment in which it is located.” Inspectors have documented “rotting and decay in the timber decks,” cracks in the wood, and deterioration of the preservatives meant to strengthen its structural elements. The salty air “causes significant corrosion on the connection bolts that hold the timber members in place.”
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The agency also notes the bridge does not meet seismic standards, creating “a higher probability of bridge damage and bridge closure” in the event of an earthquake. Its dimensions fail to provide “continuous, safe, and separate access for bicyclists and pedestrians,” despite Highway 1’s designation as part of the Pacific Coast Bike Route and California Coastal Trail. And in the event of a car crash on the bridge, the wooden railing, inspectors say, “is not capable of resisting current vehicle impact loading requirements.”
Caltrans’ rendering of a proposed open-spandrel arch bridge over the Albion River, designed to replace the 1944 timber trestle with a seismically resilient structure.
Caltrans
Manny Machado, Caltrans District 1 spokesperson, told SFGATE in an email that the Federal Highway Administration’s review backed up Caltrans’ findings: “The need to quickly replace this high-risk structure on this important coastal route is prudent.”
The Albion Bridge Stewards organized in 2017 to preserve the state and federally listed historic landmark and have been pushing back on the state’s efforts to replace the bridge since. Heid told SFGATE the group’s priority is to communicate that “there’s nothing wrong with the bridge, it just needs ongoing maintenance” and that it has long served as an “icon of our community.”
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Heid stressed that the bridge is tied to the region’s economic future. “With the demise of the timber industry and the fishing industry on the coast, tourism and preservation are the economic engines of this area,” he said. For the Stewards, the Albion River Bridge is part of that draw — a living piece of historic architecture that attracts visitors to Mendocino County’s coast.
The state’s design for a new Albion River Bridge features a contemporary concrete arch, reflecting Caltrans’ effort to upgrade Highway 1 infrastructure along the Mendocino Coast.
Caltrans
If Caltrans were to replace the bridge with a modern design, it has committed to “address adverse effects” of removing the historic structure by installing an interpretive exhibit near or on the new bridge. The plan calls for panels about the historic bridge, a scale model of the Albion River Bridge, and a short documentary film “available for viewing on a Caltrans supported website” for “educational and interpretive purposes.”
“Everybody knows that a sign doesn’t drive tourists,” Heid said. “Nobody takes a picture of, you know, a sign.” Instead, he argued, “People will stop and take a picture of a beautiful historic bridge.”
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On Aug. 8, Caltrans announced that after more than a decade of community meetings, environmental impact reports, and rounds of stakeholder input through the maze of state bureaucracy, a replacement design had finally been selected. The new structure — an open-spandrel arch to be built just east of the existing bridge — will feature a 47-foot operating width with two 12-foot travel lanes, 6-foot shoulders, external steel barrier rails that meet modern safety standards, and a dedicated pedestrian walkway.
Caltrans documentation indicates that if this plan goes forward, construction would require the Albion River Campground and Beach to be closed to public access for more than three years. The project would cost an estimated $136 million.
The Albion River Bridge stands in stark silhouette as fog drifts in and the last light of sunset paints the sky in amber tones.
Courtesy of Rita Crane
Construction is slated to begin in 2028, and the new bridge is expected to open to the public in 2031.
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For the Albion Bridge Stewards, the state’s timeline doesn’t signal the end of their fight. Heid said the group will “be ready to step in and weigh in and advocate for the preservation of the bridge.”
As Heid put it simply: “We love this bridge. We believe that it should be there. It should be preserved, and we’re here to make sure that happens.”
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