Q: I sent photos to you that were taken recently by Dave Menche in Redwood City from his kayak under the Highway 101 bridge at Redwood Creek. He shared these photos in a post he wrote on Nextdoor. By now, that post has many comments. Some people said that they had reported the problem to Caltrans.
Here’s some of what Dave described in his post, “Many columns are damaged, rebar is corroding, concrete is cracking and spalling off the columns. Caltrans was notified, our State Senator Josh Becker’s office, also. It has been four weeks since, yet no reply has been received. Is this bridge safe?” And, “The failing columns are on both north and south directions, in both the outside lanes, and in the inside (carpool) lanes.”
I know I don’t have to tell you how well-traveled 101 is on the Peninsula. Any chance you can talk to one of your contacts and find out how safe/unsafe this is and when this might get fixed?
A. Nichols, Redwood City
A: Thanks for sharing this information. I forwarded your email and the photos you sent to several people at Caltrans. Alejandro-the-Caltrans-spokesman for San Mateo County reports that Caltrans conducted a field inspection last week. The conditions of the columns and substructure elements were documented, and the findings have been reviewed. The review concluded that the structure is still able to carry vehicles, based on the most current load rating calculation. “Accordingly, there is no safety issue for the traveling public pertaining to the structural capacity of the Redwood Creek Bridge,” he said.
Caltrans is working on preparing a bridge inspection report, which should be completed in a few weeks. While the bridge remains safe for all types of loading, repair recommendations will be made to mitigate the column spalling and protect the column reinforcing steel from further corrosion. These repairs will be scheduled in a future maintenance project with details of the work and schedule provided during the design phase.
Q: During a recent drive southbound on 101, I noticed a slew of bike frames stuffed on top of the concrete piling of the railroad bridge located between Marsh and Willow Roads. They present a potential safety hazard, if they should fall into the roadway. Who should I contact to have these (stolen?) items retrieved?
Joel Hayflick, Palo Alto
A: This does sound dangerous, as you observed. You provided more information so I understood which roadway could be affected if the bike frames fell. I forwarded your email to Caltrans, and hopefully they have already taken care of it.
You can also report problems like this to Caltrans’ division of maintenance by filling out a customer service form on the department’s website.
Look for Gary Richards at facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.