PUBLIC WORKS LOOKS TO REPLACE HAMMOND TRAIL BRIDGE

Humboldt County is drawing up plans to replace the Hammond Trail pedestrian bridge over the Mad River. The public works department estimates it will cost three to four million dollars, but they say corrosion to the steel bridge has made the project a “must-do.” It was built in 1941 for railroad cars, and then became part of the trail in the early 1980’s. Public Works says the bridge sees more than one thousand users a day, and that an engineer in Redding is studying how to replace it. They plan to build the new bridge out of concrete and stainless steel handrails. They are still in the beginning phase of the project, replacing the bridge could take 5 to 10 years.