(The following article by Dana Yates was posted on the San Mateo Daily Journal website on November 6.)
SAN MATEO, Calif. — Four train bridges near San Mateo’s North Central neighborhood are about to be replaced, but not before officials have a chance to review their historical significance.
The four Caltrain bridges at East Poplar, Santa Inez, Monte Diablo and Tilton avenues were built in 1903. They are old, small and seismically unsafe but also considered historic properties. Before Caltrain can tear them down, the San Mateo Public Works Commission must suggest ways to preserve their historical significance.
There are at least three suggested measures the commission will discuss at its Nov. 8 meeting. One suggestion is to prepare reproductions of available architectural drawings, photographs and drafting a narrative to submit to the National Historic American Engineering Record and the National Register of Historic Places. Copies could be sent to local libraries as well, according to a report issued by the Department of Public Works.
Another option is to allow the California State Railroad Museum, the Golden Gate Railroad Museum or the San Mateo County Historical Society the opportunity to salvage parts of the bridges, according to the report.
A final option is to install permanent informational plaques or interpretive displays at the sites or at nearby public locations, according to the report.
The bridges have long been a problem for San Mateo and Caltrain. Trucks routinely hit the low-hanging bridge and sometimes get stuck.
Each time one of the bridges is struck by a car, an alarm is signaled and Caltrain must close the tracks until engineers can determine it is safe, said Larry Patterson, director of the San Mateo Public Works Department.
The new bridges will have bars that protect the bridge. Trucks would hit the bar before hitting the actual bridge, Patterson said.
The design of the project is only 20 percent complete. Caltrain estimated construction to cost $40 million and will begin in July 2007 and take about a year to complete. Caltrain will raise tracks and bridges to achieve higher vertical clearances, construct new retaining walls and modify roads to accommodate the raised bridges.
For residents in the neighborhood, the replacement is long overdue.
“It’s about time,” said Claire Mack, former mayor and longtime resident of North Central San Mateo.
Mack, who once fought for the preservation and seismic renovation of San Mateo High School, can understand the need to tear down rather than restore the old bridges.
“Safety, I’m sure, is a concern. I imagine one of the reasons they need to be changed is the engines are heavier, pulling more cars and moving faster,” Mack said.