First time here? Welcome and thank you for visiting.
This page is an overview of the issues that our group, Albion Bridge Stewards, is working on. Throughout this website, you’ll find more details, links to articles in the press, videos of public meetings, and more.
The big picture
The California Department of Transportation has numerous projects in various stages of planning. Some are needed and important.
But many others are unnecessary and destructive—environmentally, economically, and historically.
In Albion, one such project proposes to replace the historic Albion River Bridge, the last remaining timber trestle bridge on California’s Highway 1. The bridge was built in the 1940s. Steel and concrete were needed for the war effort, so the state designed a beautiful trestle bridge constructed largely from virgin Douglas fir.
Caltrans and the US Federal Highway Administration propose to spend roughly $150 million of taxpayer money to destroy Albion’s iconic and historic Albion River Bridge. Independent professional engineers have assessed the bridge and noted that is not in need of replacement (read more).
What we’re doing
For over ten years, we’ve been working to preserve this beautiful piece of history — documenting Caltrans’ public meetings, engaging with government agencies and elected officials, informing the community. Most recently, we have filed a lawsuit against Caltrans alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (read more).
How you can help
From legal expenses to insurance costs, our efforts are expensive. We rely on donations from concerned citizens and organizations who agree that this piece of history and the sensitive environment around it deserve preservation and protection.
We are a 501(c)(3) organization; donations are tax deductible. To help support our work, please visit this page.
More details
Caltrans’ plans would create a wider, faster, out-of-place concrete bridge — where the county, state, and federal law and coastal plans for our area specifically prohibit it.
• Three to five years of construction, massive cut-and-fill grading, lane and road closures, and potentially environmentally damaging noise and nighttime lighting
• Thousands of partial and full closure hours of Highway 1, with a 126-mile detour via Highway 101 (or by poorly maintained, low-capacity county roads, 28 miles)
• Closure of the wild and scenic Albion River to commercial fishing and recreational boats, including to build cofferdams in the estuarine river
• Closure of the Albion Flats campground and public recreational access to Albion Cove Beach
• Large, unsightly retaining walls along Highway 1 and on the unstable bluffs
• Substantial construction noise, vibrations from pile driving, and dust from grading
• Removal of trees and other major vegetation from the Albion River and Albion Cove bluffs, with subsequent erosion
Our group is working to preserve one of the most valuable resources on the Mendocino Coast: the beautiful, winding ribbon that is Highway 1. This rural road traverses some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the world. On one side of the highway are the dramatic cliffs of the California National Monument. On the other side are unique coastal marine terraces—vivid examples of our planet’s history. And along both sides are myriad species of plants and animals, many of which are threatened or endangered.
Highway 1 provides a front-row seat to all of this. As such, it’s part of the economic engine of the Mendocino County, a region where tourism is replacing diminishing logging and fishing industries. And it’s the primary artery for the thousands of local residents who rely on it to access jobs, shopping, medical care, emergency services, and more.
A variety of laws and regulations are designed to protect our coast, ranging from the California Coastal Act to the local coastal plans created on the county level. But laws and regulations are only effective if they’re enforced. Unfortunately, local and state governmental bodies are failing in their duty, falling under the steamroller of Caltrans, the fourth largest agency in California—and an agency that contributes more than $1 million each year to the California Coastal Commission as part of a cozy “interagency agreement.”
Together, we can save this beautiful portion of Highway 1.
