1912 / 1933 Greenspot Road bridge over the Santa Ana River
The Greenspot Road bridge, locally known as the “Erector Set Bridge” has an interesting history. It was originally built in 1912 located near Victorville at the Mojave Narrows. In 1932, the bridge was dismantled and replaced with a wider span for US Highway 66. In 1933, San Bernardino County purchased a portion of the span and rebuilt it over the Santa Ana River between Mentone and Highland. The bridge remained in general use until 2015 when it was bypassed by a new bridge to the west. Today, the bridge is a part of a bicycle trail along the Santa Ana River.
To get to the bridge, use either the 5th St / Greenspot Road exit on State 210 (Exit 83) from the west or via State 38 (Mill Creek Road) and Garnet St from the east.
Near Valyermo, California, outside of Palmdale, the locals have placed signs where Pallet Creek Road crosses the San Andreas Fault. They picked a really nice spot too, as you have a sag area, fault scarp, and offset streams all easily visible from there. I recommend a visit!
Today, myself and three others cleaned my portion of I-8 and the western US 80 adopted sections. Temperatures were a bit warmer than planned, but still not that bad. A bit more of a breeze would have helped though. We all met at 9 am at Laguna Summit and started with cleaning I-8. There ended up being a bit more trash than I expected, which is ok for a first cleanup. We managed to fill six large bags with trash and left the highway quite clean. US 80, however, was much easier. What little was there only filled one bag halfway. I do with to thank the volunteers for coming out. It was quite helpful and made the cleanup go fairly smoothly. I do plan another cleanup in a couple of months, this one will include I-8 and both sections of US 80 (Laguna Summit and Jacumba). Temperatures should be nicer by then as well.
US Highway 6, now known as Sierra Highway, crossed the Santa Clara River near Solemint, California. The bridge it originally used, constructed in 1938, is planned to be replaced in the near future. This bridge is one of the oldest remaining in the Santa Clarita area and is the longest span on former US 6 in California. The bridge has remained almost intact from its original construction. The only changes have been minor to the bridge itself. The highway, however, has changed quite a bit. In 1968, Sierra Highway, then State Route 14, was widened to four lanes. A second bridge for northbound traffic was added, with the original bridge being used for southbound traffic.
Presently, Sierra Highway is six lanes wide at the river crossing. As the bridges were built with a four-lane highway in mind, only a narrow shoulder along both directions exists. This condition is one of the reasons the bridges across the Santa Clara River are being replaced.
In March of 2017, I took a trip to inspect in more detail the bridge and the surrounding area. It was nice to see the bridge again, as it brought back a lot of memories. I used to live near the bridge and crossed it almost daily. It will be sad to see it go as it is one of the last remaining pieces of the old highway. So, please, check it out yourself while you still can. I’m not quite sure when the construction will begin, it may have already.
Main Structure:
Side view, from the northern end. Note the small arches along each span.
Southern abutment and wing wall.
Between the 1938 and 1968 spans. Quite a difference between the girders.
Deck view, looking northerly from the south end.
Side view showing the railing, arched spans, and wing wall.
Detailing:
Underside view of the bridge.
Closeup of the west side railing from the south end of the bridge.
View showing the railing at the expansion joint.
Expansion joint that may have moved during an earthquake or from settling.
Expansion joint along the bridge deck.
Deck drain detail.
Remaining section of railroad rail and wire fence embankment protection.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has a wealth of information available on their website. With a bit of patience and some looking around, you can find quite a few treasures using their mapping application. I’ve so far found the original survey data for the “Bridge To Nowhere” roadway, plans for other roadways that were never built in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, as well as the forest service permit for the Shoemaker Canyon Road that was never completed.
