Rawhide Bridge To Remain Open For Pedestrians And Bicycles

Sonora, Ca — What to do with the Rawhide Rd. Bridge located at Woods Creek was a debate at Tuesday´s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors Meeting.

A new bridge is scheduled to be built in the coming years, which would leave the historic bridge without a central purpose. Options on the table included leaving it for bike and pedestrian traffic only, transferring ownership to the adjacent property owner or another public agency, or even demolishing the structure.

Representing the Tuolumne Heritage Committee, Sharon Marovich voiced her concerns to the Board. ?I never expected that the Tuolumne Heritage Committee would be in front of this board, or any board, asking that the Rawhide Bridge not be demolished,” said Marovich. “It is one of our more important landmarks and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.?

The Board voted 4-0 to keep the bridge under the County´s control and open for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. One of the issues that will need to be resolved is that the Caltrans environmental review staff has informed the County, that it will need to purchase some of the adjacent property for planting of vegetation. It is a part of the required mitigation included in the environmental document for the project.

The historic Rawhide Bridge was built in 1908.

Written by BJ Hansen