In a unanimous vote this week, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors OK'ed an environmental impact report for a bridge project that's supposed to replace Watmaugh Bridge, the Sonoma Index Tribune reports.
Watmaugh Bridge, the 83-year-old steel-truss bridge spanning Sonoma Creek, is a piece of Sonoma history and should be retrofitted, say its supporters.
However, the board of supervisors say that the bridge is ailing, and is a public safety issue. The new bridge is designed to be at 32 feet with 11-foot traffic lanes and two five-foot pedestrian/bike lanes, according to the Index Tribune. The current bridge is 22-feet wide and does not have pedestrian or bike lanes.
Proponents of the bridge say that the board of supervisors are not in a retrofit mindset, but instead want to replace the bridge without doing everything in their power to restore a piece of Sonoma history.
Now we put the question in front of the readers of Sonoma Valley Patch. Should the bridge be replaced? Or should it be retrofitted?
What are your thoughts?
