Caltrans installs 'interim' delineators on Garrapata Creek Bridge until a prettier solution is found.

The railings of Garrapata Creek Bridge, which was completed in 1931, have been in need of replacement for years, as they are in a state of decay. 

But the design options Caltrans presented the county's Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors were rejected in 2023 and 2024, respectively. 

Over the past few days, Caltrans has installed a series of measures aimed to slow traffic across the bridge until a more permanent solution is found, which could take years. 

Martha Diehl, a longtime county planning commissioner whose driveway spills out near the bridge, has been a vocal opponent of the previously proposed designs—the bridge is historic, and in her view, it should remain looking that way, even with modern retrofitting. 

But she's not blaming Caltrans—they're just following the laws they're confined by. With that in mind, she thinks the problem requires a legislative solution—already, she notes, Highway 1 in Big Sur has its own special set of rules. 

"What we’re looking for is somebody to break this deadlock," Diehl says. "I'm hoping it will be one of our state legislators, or more than one." 

Caltrans has installed reduced speed limit signs in advance of the bridge, as well as speed measurement systems to monitor vehicle speeds on each approach to the bridge—Caltrans is trying to slow cars down, and if it can't, could reduce traffic to one-lane only.