During a City workshop a few weeks ago on the plans to restore Chelsea Wetlands, the Contra Costa County Flood Control District made it known that it is their stated goal to remove the abandoned Railroad Bridge over Pinole Creek because it serves as a barrier for the outward flow of flood waters (into the bay). This doesn’t mean that a new bridge cannot replace it, of course, presumably one with a longer span that more readily conveys flood waters, but such a new bridge wouldn’t serve much of a purpose, if any at all, since that portion of Railroad Avenue is closed off to traffic anyway. The bridge would also cost at least a few million dollars.

The fact that Railroad Bridge currently supports critical utility lines was raised at the meeting. It is true. Utilities, including sanitary sewer and a petroleum fuel pipeline, rely on cantilever supports stemming from Railroad Bridge. Below is a view of the eastern side of the bridge from the Pinole side of the creek…

The larger, rusted pipe in the photograph above is the sanitary sewer line, and the thin blue pipe is a water line, I believe. (The petroleum line rests on the cantilever supports on the western side of the bridge.) The fact that these critical utilities currently rely on Railroad Bridge for support is an issue, but it is not a deal-breaker with regard to the removal of the bridge (even in the case that the bridge is not replaced). The utilities could be relocated and rely on supports of the nearby pedestrian bridges or even the bridge that carries the railroad tracks. The lines could be hidden from view below the pedestrian bridge with the use of side-facing. Additionally, the plan to send wastewater to WCWD — and not the Pinole plant — would require a new sanitary sewer line to be installed. Either way, the potential for a long-term plan of Railroad Avenue being restored as wetlands remains a distinct possibility, complete with the removal of the abandoned Railroad Bridge.

The existing sanitary sewer line (and there would be no real reason to replace this stretch of sewer following a switch of wastewater treatment plants) runs beneath the Bay Trail along Chelsea Wetlands. The pipe is relatively shallow however, meaning that there would be plenty of vertical clearance available to install a series of culverts below mean high sea level along the length of the embankment, allowing for the tidal inundation of lower Railroad Avenue.

Combining the efforts to restore the wetlands on both sides of the Bay Trail should be a goal for the City. If the City currently doesn’t have a plan for the long-term future of the abandoned Railroad Avenue (and it supposedly does not), it should develop one. The City should consider the County’s wise efforts to remove the bridge over Pinole Creek, and expand the planned wetland restoration work, providing for a much more enriched and vital waterfront. Additional wetlands will reduce the severity of flooding, and encourage a natural bayfront habitat, an invaluable community resource.