Mendocino County Had Been Working Since 2012 to replace Covelo’s Failing Green Bridge, Then It Collapsed Into Mill Creek on Friday
In the midst of a public debate that has stretched more than 20 years over whether to replace or renovate Covelo’s Green Bridge, the structure collapsed into Mill Creek on Friday. The county secured federal funding and entered into a replacement contract in 2012. At the time, the allocation was about $600,000, though that figure did not cover all project components. Right‑of‑way acquisition was completed in 2024. The bridge, built according to one source in 1925, was 120 feet long — well until today.
A man was driving across the bridge on Hill Road at Eel River Ranch Road at 6:40 p.m. when it gave way beneath him, sending his vehicle over the edge. The car overturned and came to rest on its roof near the river, the CHP said. The driver suffered only minor injuries. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area and use alternate routes, according to the CHP.
There are several other crossings in the area, so the collapse does not completely cut anyone off, but it could significantly slow fire and emergency response in a region that has seen wildfires in the past. The bridge was constructed by the county. We found reports that it was built in 1925 but the county history says “the 1930s”. While Caltrans took over many county bridges in the 20th century, this was not one of them, and the state does not inspect or fund this replacement project.
Efforts led by Cal Fire and local fire departments to replace the structure culminated in 2014, when funding was secured, but no construction followed. A contract to rebuild the bridge was finally executed in 2017.
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Last week, Mendocino County transportation officials were urgently trying to convince Covelo residents that the Green Bridge needed to be replaced. Some community members pushed back, arguing the bridge should be preserved and designated as a historic site. Records going back to 2013 show similar opposition, with many residents favoring construction of a new bridge alongside the old one rather than removing the existing structure. A decade ago, local artists even painted the old iron bridge with its wood deck on canvas in an effort to persuade the county to preserve it. Some advocated keeping it in place next to the new bridge.
The need to replace the Green Bridge appears in county documents dating back twenty years. In 2013, a series of meetings documented that local residents wanted the bridge replaced while also preserving the existing structure as a pedestrian pathway.
Here is part of the debate on social media. These posts are from the last 30 days.
We have all crossed the Green Bridge countless times, hearing its familiar rattle as we made our way across Mill Creek. It has always been part of life in Round Valley.
I understand the need for a modern bridge that can accommodate emergency vehicles and improve public safety. But some things have value beyond their practical purpose. The Green Bridge is more than a way across Mill Creek. It is part of Covelo’s identity and history.
If a new bridge is necessary, I hope there is a way to preserve the Green Bridge in some form. Future generations deserve the chance to hear the same familiar sound crossing Mill Creek and experience a small piece of what has made Covelo feel like home for so many years. Once a landmark like that is gone, it can never truly be replaced.
Didn’t we go thru this before? Nobody wanted it to be replaced. We all went down to the bridge and painted pictures of it to show support for keeping it.. It was shown that an iron bridge lasts twice as long as one of those concrete ones/ Why do these issues keep popping up repeatedly?
Here’s the deal on the old green bridge at Mill Creek/The Outlet: It’s an old bridge, the weight limit won’t allow a CalFire low bed with a dozer, consequently CalFire, for instance coming from 162, has to drive the long way around out East Lane and then Hill Road to access anything immediately on the other side of the bridge like Pigeon Ridge, out to the river that way or anything close if emergency response is needing to cross the bridge. The replacement is being paid from funds other than County road maintenance money. The bridge replacement and the need to fix our county roads are not related financially. Got that, people?
This brought the following response from an anti-growth advocate:
The Green Bridge was put in after I arrived in Covelo, there is no reason is would not be structurally sound. As a property owner on both Cr and Pr I think it is stupid for the county to spend Millions replacing it. Just in case of a fire up there? There are not that many of us. I suggest property owners keep there land cleaned up.
There is no need. It will just give people the green light to even go faster. With a new bridge kids will fly around that corner causing yet more accidents and possibly deaths.
Protect the Valley. Keep progress out. Or leave
BELOW… COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR HOWARD DASCHIELL sets out the history of bridge replacement as he argues against the social media advocates of saving the bridge.
The social‑media posts were lively, but the decision to replace the Green Bridge on its existing alignment — a plan that would require closing the road for a construction season — was actually made about fourteen years ago. At a public meeting at the Covelo Fire House, county officials, Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and local fire representatives agreed the bridge needed a new structure capable of carrying legal‑size loads as well as permit‑only bonus loads such as oversized bulldozers with over‑width blades.
The old bridge is not classified as “historic,” and during the CEQA process one of the options considered was replacing it with another truss‑type bridge built with weathering steel for lower long‑term maintenance.
The funding is restricted to bridges and cannot be used for pothole repairs. These dollars are designated for bridges already in the federal system so they can be brought up to current codes and standards. Short Creek Ford, which has no existing bridge, is not part of that system. To build a bridge there, the county would have to fully fund the project first and then apply to have it added to the federal system.
I strongly advise the Board of Supervisors not to retain the Mill Creek Bridge at Hill Road in Covelo.
Cordially,
Howard N. Dashiell, Director
Mendocino County Department of Transportation
340 Lake Mendocino Drive
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707)463-4363 front desk
(707)463-5474 FAX
County Engineer – County Surveyor – Road Commissioner
1. The replacement project is a federally funded bridge project
In 2024 Mendocino County entered into DOT Agreement No. 110118 with GHD Inc. to design a Federal Highway Administration–compliant bridge to meet all current highway load standards. The agreement explicitly states that the project is being designed to federal specifications, which is only done when federal bridge funding is involved.
2. The design contract was initially funded prior to 2012 in two phases totaling $496,244. In 2012, the amount was increased to over $600,000 and we don’t have the funding updates that have happened since.
The Board of Supervisors initially approved a not‑to‑exceed cost of $496,244 for design work, split into:
- Phase 1: $304,442
- Phase 2: $191,802 (activated upon receiving the federal grant Notice to Proceed)
This confirms that federal bridge program dollars were already secured at least for the design phase.
3. The bridge qualifies for federal funding because it is part of the federal bridge inventory
The resolution notes that the new structure must meet FHWA highway load standards, which applies only to bridges in the Federal Aid Highway System. This aligns with what you already know:
- Federal bridge funds cannot be used for potholes.
- Funds apply only to bridges already in the federal system.
- Short Creek Ford is not in the system, so it would not qualify.
4. The existing Mill Creek/Green Bridge is (now 101) years old and load‑restricted
The bridge has been in service 101 years and is load‑restricted, which is one of the criteria that makes it eligible for federal replacement funding.
For years, county documents have warned that dozens of Mendocino County’s aging bridges are nearing the end of their service lives. Some are load‑restricted. Some haven’t been inspected in decades. Some, like the Green Bridge, have been the subject of debate for so long that the engineering clock simply ran out.
We find particular disdain for the claim, made by a social‑media poster, that anyone who wants change or improvements should leave. This community does not belong to a single person or a single viewpoint — it belongs to all of us. And fire safety is not optional. It is a basic responsibility, and it matters.
Thank God no one was badly hurt this time. But the question now is the one that has hovered over every delayed replacement project in this county: what about the next bridge, and the next collapse we don’t see coming?
Frank has been studying and reporting on Mendocino County’s bridges for more than 30 years. This collapse is not the end of the story — it’s the beginning of a much larger one.
More bridge coverage is coming at MendocinoCoast.news.
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