Ross to probe for cultural resources at Winship Bridge

Ross town officials will conduct a cultural resources review hoping to move along its stalled Winship Bridge project.

The Town Council unanimously approved a $24,911 contract amendment with the engineering firm Consor at a meeting on Feb. 15. The resolution appropriated the money from a town fund intended for drainage.

Recent field surveys at the site have revealed evidence that Native Americans “lived and thrived” in the vicinity of the bridge and Winship Park, a staff report said. The discovery amplified the need for further research to confirm the town’s compliance with cultural resource reporting requirements.

Mayor Elizabeth Brekhus said the town was compliant with environmental law in its collaboration with local tribes.

“Ross takes that obligation seriously,” Brekhus said. “I imagine we are not unique in wanting to cooperate with tribes and act in compliance with the law.”

The 98-year-old bridge crosses San Anselmo Creek on Winship Avenue between Garden Road and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

The bridge integrity scored a 54.6 score on a scale of 100 in 2020, according to Caltrans. The bridge also does not provide proper flow in the creek because of a center pier supporting the bridge and tight waterways.

The project aims to upgrade the crossing to current safety and design standards with a more hydraulically sufficient bridge. The bridge would be replaced with a precast concrete slab bridge that has an approximately 20-foot-wide road and a 4.5-foot walkway on the north side. The road would be raised 4 feet to meet flood requirements.

The Ross Valley Sanitary District also will update a sewer line within the bridge to relieve hydraulic deficiencies.

Ross Town Manager Christa Johnson said cultural resources surveys were performed in the vicinity of the Winship Bridge in 2021 by the town’s archaeological consultant. State law requires that the results of those surveys remain confidential, she said.

“The purpose of the cultural resource surveys is to determine the existence of any historical buildings, structures, or sites within the project work area so that the town, in cooperation with Caltrans, can develop appropriate mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate any impacts to those historical resources,” she said.

The new funding will pay for a review which will begin sometime in the next few months. It will require legal right of entry from private property owners. The process should take a few weeks.

Kleinfelder, a Bay Area-based archaeological company, will conduct the review, according to a staff report.

Matt O’Donnell, a public information officer with Caltrans, said the project was being managed by the state through the office of local assistance for federal reimbursement.

The Winship bridge is one of five bridges previously slated for replacement in the 2011 Ross Valley flood protection plan. The replacement project qualifies for the federal Highway Bridge Program funding and toll credits, which will be used to reimburse the town in full for the cost of the project.

The project has been under development since 2013, when the town was approved for $655,7000 in federal credits from the highway bridge program. The town awarded the engineering contract to Consor in 2014.

The town began the National Environmental Policy Act process in 2020, which requires compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. Enhanced reporting requirements required by Caltrans in 2021 required new contract amendments, including the most recent review.

The bridge project is in the final stages of NEPA approval. It is expected to be completed in June of 2024.

Public Works Director Richard Simonitch said the total contract amount with Consor following the amendment is $934,300.

The town has borrowed a total of $185,000 to cover costs. The amount is expected to be reimbursed following the conclusion of the NEPA process.

“A lot of money has been injected into these types of programs,” Simonitch said. “We’re fairly confident the money is going to be there.”

Simonitch said the bridge replacement was expected to begin in 2025.

The total cost of the bridge project, including engineering and construction, is estimated to be $7.5 million.