O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge

O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge was a structure located at the Stanislaus River along the Tuolumne County and Calaveras County line. O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge was constructed during 1862 as a replacement for an earlier suspension bridge. O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge was removed during 1955 as part of the Tri-Dam project which formed Lake Tulloch. O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge can be seen as the blog cover photo as featured in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works.

The history of O'Bryne's Covered Bridge

The history of O'Bryne's Covered Bridge was featured in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works. O'Byrne's Ferry was cable ferry crossing of the Stanislaus River which was constructed during the early California Gold Rush by Patrick O'Bryne. The first O'Byrne's Ferry Bridge opened in 1852 as a suspension span. The original O'Byrne's Ferry Bridge was overloaded by oxen during November 1853 but was soon rebuilt. The original O'Byrne's Ferry Bridge was destroyed in an 1862 flood which led to it being replaced by a covered bridge.

O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge can be seen in a photo featured in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works.

O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge can be seen on the 1916 United States Geological Survey map of Copperopolis.

The site of O'Bryne's Ferry Covered Bridge can be seen at the Stanislaus River and Calaveras County line along O'Bryne's Ferry Road on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Tuolumne County.

The O'Byrne Ferry Covered Bridge was removed during 1955 as part of the Tri-Dam Project which eventually formed Lake Tulloch. O'Byrne's Ferry Road was subsequently realigned via a bridge which crossed the Tuolumne/Calaveras County line at the site of Lake Tulloch. The relocated O'Byrne's Ferry Road can be seen on the 1962 United States Geological Survey map of Copperopolis.

O'Byrne's Ferry Road was assigned as part of County Route E15 by 1974. The current O'Byrne's Ferry historical plaque was placed by the Calaveras County Historical Society during 1993 along County Route E15.

Comments

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California. According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932. US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley. LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes. The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...

Trimmer Springs Road (Fresno County)

Trimmer Springs Road is an approximately forty-mile rural highway located in Fresno County. The corridor begins near in California State Route 180 in Centerville and extends to Blackrock Road at the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada range near the Pacific Gas & Electric Company town of Balch Camp. The roadway is named after the former Trimmer Springs Resort and was originally constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume. Trimmer Springs Road was heavily modified and elongated after construction of Pine Flat Dam broke ground in 1947. Part 1; the history of Trimmer Springs Road Much of the original alignment of Trimmer Springs Road was constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume. The Kings River Lumber Company had been established in 1888 in the form of a 30,000-acre purchase of forest lands in Converse Basin. This purchase lied immediately west of Grant Grove and came to be known as "Millwood." The co...

When was Ventura Avenue east of downtown Fresno renamed to Kings Canyon Road? (California State Route 180)

California State Route 180 was one of the original Sign State Routes designated in August 1934. The highway east of Fresno originally utilized what was Ventura Avenue and Dunlap Road to reach what was then General Grant National Park. By late year 1939 the highway was extended through the Kings River Canyon to Cedar Grove. In 1940 General Grant National Park would be expanded and rebranded as Kings Canyon National Park. The Kings Canyon Road designation first appeared in publications circa 1941 when the California State Route 180 bypass of Dunlap was completed. Kings Canyon Road ultimately would replace the designation of Dunlap Road from Dunlap to Centerville and Ventura Avenue west to 1st Street in Fresno. The Kings Canyon Road would remain largely intact until March 2023 when the Fresno Council designated Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Cesar Chavez Boulevard was designated over a ten-mile corridor over what was Kings Canyon Road, remaini...