Skip to main content

1906 North Fork Road Bridge Ruins

Downstream from the Friant Dam is North Fork Road which crosses the San Joaquin River on a bridge which was completed in 1952.  Downstream from said 1952 bridge is an older right-of-way and very apparent bridge ruin which caught my eye on many a trip past Millerton Lake.


It turns out that particular bridge ruin is the reinforced concrete 1906 North Fork Road Bridge.  The 1906 North Fork Road Bridge was the first reinforced concrete bridge in Fresno County was the replacement of a wooden structure that was built in 1883.  During the collapse of the 1889 Lanes Bridge in 1940 the 1906 North Fork Road Bridge became Temporary California State Route 41 until a replacement structure was open in 1941.  Somehow despite the Friant Dam being completed in 1949 flood waters downstream from the structure became bad enough in 1951 to wipe out the 1906 North Fork Road Bridge.  Oddly rather removing the 1906 structure when the 1952 replacement was built it was instead left in the San Joaquin River as it was.  The ruins are easily viewed from the 1952 bridge by pulling over to the south shoulder.





Apparently the canyon that the Friant Dam and North Fork Road dips into was once called Jenny Lind Canyon.  The 1883 wooden bridge apparently shared the name of the Canyon and was the first bridge crossing of the San Joaquin River in Fresno County.  At the time the 1883 Jenny Lind Bridge was built the village Friant was still known as Hamptonville.  Hamptonville was established as a ferry crossing of the San Joaquin River in 1852.



Fortunately the 1906 North Fork Bridge collapsed at the right time because the 1952 replacement still has classic California highway design flair.







For perspective the Friant Dam literally is within walking distance to the north of both the 1906 and 1952 North Fork Road bridges.





It wasn't easy compiling documentation on the 1906 bridge but the Lanes Bridge article I cited in the previous blog mentions it.  I was also able to find partial information on the 1906 bridge on Bridgehunter.com.

Lanes Bridge Spanned Decades

Bridge Hunter on 1906 North Fork Road Bridge

Comments

AnnDee4444 said…
This was also know as the Pollasky bridge, due Friant still being named Pollasky until 1907.

Page 23 of this PDF has a good photo of this bridge: http://www.survivorlibrary.com/library/why_the_concrete_bridge_is_replacing_other_forms_1913.pdf
Challenger Tom said…
Definitely appreciate the link, I posted a snip of the photo in the PDF to the Gribblenation Facebook page.

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Patterson Pass Road

Recently on a day trip to the San Francisco Bay Area I traversed the Diablo Range eastbound via Patterson Pass Road. Patterson Pass Road is an approximately 13 mile roadway which starts at Mines Road in Livermore of Alameda County.  Patterson Pass Road eastward ascends over the approximately 1,600 foot namesake Patterson Pass into San Joaquin County where it ends at Interstate 580 near Tracy.  Patterson Pass Road has an infamous reputation as being a dangerous roadway due to the lengthy one-lane section and heavy rush-hour commute traffic. Patterson Pass is one of the earliest documented European paths of travel over the Diablo Range as it was explored during the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza.  The 1775-1776 Spanish expedition charted out much of San Francisco Bay which led to the founding of the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis.  Patterson Pass Road between Cross Road east to Midway Road is part of the Juan Bautista de Anza

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held