Fernbridge (bridge)
| Fernbridge | |
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A view of the west side of Fernbridge from the south bank of the Eel River
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| Carries |
 SR 211
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| Crosses | Eel River |
| Locale | Fernbridge, California |
| Maintained by | California Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 1,320 ft (402.3 m) |
| History | |
| Designer | John B. Leonard |
| Construction start | 1910 |
| Opened | November 8, 1911 |
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Fernbridge
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Location in California
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| Coordinates | 40°36′51″N 124°12′8″W / 40.61417°N 124.20222°WCoordinates: 40°36′51″N 124°12′8″W / 40.61417°N 124.20222°W |
| Area | 1.4 acres (0.6 ha) |
| NRHP reference # | 87000566 |
| Added to NRHP | April 2, 1987 |
Fernbridge is a 1,320-foot-long (402.3 m) concrete arch bridge designed by American engineer John B. Leonard which opened in 1911 at the site of an earlier ferry crossing of the Eel River. Fernbridge is the last crossing before the Eel arrives at the Pacific Ocean, and anchors one end of California State Route 211 leading to Ferndale, California. When built, it was named the "Queen of Bridges" and is still the longest functional poured concrete bridge in operation in the world.
After 17 years of petitioning by residents of Ferndale and the Eel River valley, Humboldt County Supervisors accepted bids for construction in 1910, and work started March 20 of that year.Reinforced concrete was used because studies after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake along 296 miles (476 km) of the San Andreas Fault from Ferndale south to San Jose, California showed that reinforced concrete withstood earthquakes. The nearly one-quarter-mile (0.4 km) span cost US$245,967 (equivalent to $6,322,000 in 2016) to build, and consumed millions of board feet of local redwood timber for the framing. Construction was finished and the bridge put into operation on November 8, 1911. As completed, the bridge had wooden trestle approach spans 500 feet (150 m) and 551 feet (168 m) long. The reinforced concrete structure was 1,451 feet (442 m) long overall with a 24-foot (7.3 m) wide roadway carried on seven 180-foot (55 m) long arches. The original wooden approaches were replaced with the current concrete ramps in 1920.
The bridge survived floods in 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1937, 1953, 1955, 1964 and 1986. In the 1955 Christmas Week flood, the flood waters measured 27.7 feet (8.4 m) deep at Fernbridge. The south side abutment was washed out, and the approach damaged. During repairs the first end span was removed and an earthen embankment was built which shortened the bridge by about 20 feet (6.1 m).
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Wikipedia