Letter to Editor- Caution for Hare Creek Bridge plan, widening can make roads more dangerous
Dear Editor,
While I agree that the Hare Creek bridge is narrow and dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists, the road widening they did down south of the Albion bridge has made the intersection of Albion Ridge Rd. and the highway much more dangerous. To the south of Albion Ridge the highway has a long straightaway, with the downhill to the Salmon Creek bridge, then up the other side. (And they straightened many of the curves south of Salmon Creek in the widening project, so the straightaway is even longer than it used to be.) At the top of that grade, it bends around the hill just before Albion Ridge Rd, then continues that bend with a slight descent to the Albion River bridge. The result is that the vision from the bottom of Albion Ridge rd. turning onto the highway is quite poor, especially if you have a small (low) car. And the bottom of Albion Ridge Rd. is lower than the highway, so you’re accelerating uphill with very little clear vision. Not too bad turning north, but very bad turning south. I’ve many times started to turn south, and had cars going VERY fast up the highway from what locals now know as “the Albion Speedway”, and have almost been hit a few times, and many more times have seen them in time to back up, if no one’s behind me. It’s very likely that there will be a fatal accident or two there. And the Albion bridge replacement plan calls for a curved bridge, curving the bridge farther to the east, which will only exacerbate the lack of vision there.
Alison Gardner, Albion
Editor’s Note
(Not from the author above)
If the Hare Creek Bridge is widened or replaced, we hope someone will press Caltrans to also make the road safe for walking down to Hopper Dairy. On the Albion River Bridge, no local or state leader has formally asked Caltrans for additional community benefits. Caltrans has indicated it is open to transferring the old bridge to the community, where many residents strongly oppose replacement.
If leadership were to request it, Caltrans could consider meaningful additions: permanent public access beneath both the Salmon Creek and Albion River Bridges, an expanded eelgrass study and restoration plan, sidewalks all the way to the Albion store, and ADA‑accessible sidewalks like those planned from north of the Albion River Inn to the Navarro Grange. Without those requests, Albion may receive only the minimum improvements offered for the next century.
Alison, thank you for your clear, thoughtful, and experience‑grounded letter to the editor. Your firsthand observations about the Albion Ridge Road intersection and the visibility challenges created by recent highway changes add important detail to a conversation that affects everyone who drives, walks, or bikes that stretch of Highway 1. Hearing from you — and from all our readers, whatever their views or concerns — is part of what keeps community journalism alive on the Mendocino Coast.
Your voice matters here. Your perspective matters here. And we’re always glad when you choose to share it.
If you or any reader would like to be heard in your own Letter to the Editor, write us anytime at frank@mendocinocoast.news.
