Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:

Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Description:

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is proposing to replace Elk Creek Bridge (State Bridge Inventory Number 10-0120) on State Route (SR) 1 at post mile (PM) 31.5 in Mendocino County. The project is south of the unincorporated community of Elk in Mendocino County. The area surrounding the bridge is hilly with scattered vegetation and grazing land. The existing Elk Creek Bridge is a 122-foot-long structure with two 11-foot lanes and 2-foot shoulders. The bridge was constructed in 1938 and is a continuous three-span, cast-in-place reinforced concrete bridge.

The proposed project would improve the function and geometrics of the Elk Creek Bridge and approach roadway to ensure uninterrupted traffic movement in the event of a collision or emergency incident, seismic event, or other catastrophic failure, and provide safe access for pedestrians and bicyclists across the bridge. The design of the proposed project would improve traffic flow with upgrades to the bridge approach by widening the shoulders and decreasing the curve radius, thus improving safety and reducing the potential for accidents and collisions on the bridge. It would also improve pedestrian/bicycle access and safety.