Caltrans wants feedback on plan to make Big Sur bridges less pretty for safety reasons

As a 21-year member of the Monterey County Planning Commission, Martha Diehl is usually the one presiding over proposed changes to the built environment, weighing the rights of developers, the requirements of the law and the interests of the community.

Now, she finds herself an ordinary resident – albeit with a formidable grasp of planning jargon and rules – lodging objections to a construction project in her own neighborhood.

Caltrans is planning to spend about $55 million over the next few years to replace what it calls the “nonstandard concrete baluster rails” on six historic bridges in Big Sur. These iconic arches, spanning Malpaso Creek, Granite Canyon, Garrapata Creek, Rocky Creek, Bixby Creek and Big Creek, were built in the 1930s during the Great Depression.

The old railings are too low and flimsy by modern road safety standards, and they have seen “irreversible damage from pervasive salt-laden fog,” according to Caltrans’ draft environmental impact report. The new design would have less of a “see-through appearance” and would “result in a loss of scenic vistas, substantial reduction of visual quality and character, and loss of visual access to coastal scenic resources.”

Diehl explains: “Right now you can see vehicles looking through the railings – from the distance you can see the ocean, from the vehicle on the bridge through that railing. With the proposed new railings, you can’t do that.” Diehl submitted a letter questioning the 104-page analysis for the project, hoping to protect “the almost inestimable value of the current bridge aesthetics.”

The deadline to submit a comment is Friday, Jan. 15, which can be done by writing to jason.wilkinson@dot.ca.gov