Railroad Begins to Bolster Damaged Trestle at River

Southern Pacific railroad workers have begun to shore up a rusting, 78-year-old trestle that forces trains to creep across the Ventura River since supports in the riverbed were swept away during the Feb. 12 flood.

But the work, which was approved Tuesday by the California Coastal Commission, is only a temporary fix to make the bridge safe while Ventura officials study the environmental consequences of building a permanent bridge across the westernmost channel of the river.

Reinforcing the bridge with temporary pilings driven into the riverbed will disturb a wetlands habitat for endangered species and migrating birds, said Virginia Gardner Johnson, a Coastal Commission analyst. And the pilings could trap debris and obstruct the flow of water during another flood, she said.

But the pilings can be removed if necessary when a permanent replacement bridge is built and the environmental damage is corrected, she said.

“As with all compromises, nobody is completely happy,” Johnson said. “We’re going to focus our energies now on getting a permanent bridge approved by the city of Ventura.”

Southern Pacific had wanted to replace the iron trusses and the bridge they support with a permanent concrete structure, supported by pilings, immediately after last month’s flooding.

The railroad said the flood damage required emergency repairs. It applied to the city of Ventura for a construction permit that bypasses normal environmental reviews.

The emergency permit was granted Feb. 18. But the California Coastal Commission halted the work the next day, saying a bridge replacement is too extensive to build without an environmental review.

The commission allowed--and Southern Pacific agreed to perform--the temporary work to make the bridge safe for the lumbering freights and fast-moving Amtrak trains that now must creep across the bridge at a cautious 5 to 10 m.p.h.

Meanwhile, Ventura officials have ordered an environmental study of a permanent bridge replacement. The study could take up to a year to complete.

Before 1970, Southern Pacific had three truss bridges that spanned the river. The bridge closest to the Ventura County Fairgrounds needs no repairs.

The second bridge, half a mile up the coast, is the one being considered for replacement. A third bridge slightly farther up the coast was replaced in 1970 with an earthen berm, a project that would violate today’s environmental protection laws.

Ventura’s environmental review will evaluate alternative bridge designs, including one that would replace the second bridge without driving pilings into the river bottom. But the study will also consider removing the earthen berm and replacing it with a bridge.

Southern Pacific spokesman Mike Furtney said Wednesday that the railroad has no plans to replace the berm with a bridge.

He said the railroad will pay for the environmental study as required by law but wants to build its proposed concrete bridge, which requires little additional design or engineering work.

Truss bridges are expensive, outdated and create safety concerns, he said. Railroad engineers worry that a truss creates a wall that could catch a wide load on a rail car.

“New technology has moved ahead,” Furtney said. “The new and more open bridge design eliminates that concern.”

But Richardson, the Ventura planner, said Southern Pacific has built truss bridges throughout the United States.

“I don’t see them clamoring to tear them down because of the safety issues,” he said. “That will all be studied in the environmental impact report.”