A rock and a hard place: That’s the position the county finds itself in as related to the Babocomari/Elgin Bridge.
Rock: The demolition and rebuilding of a much-loved span over Babocomari Creek.
Hard place: The preservation of the iconic bridge for pedestrians and bicycles, with a new bridge constructed at a different location.
It would seem both outcomes pose positive and negative impacts, as local residents learned at a county-organized open house held Tuesday at the Elgin Club.
Four options for the bridge’s future were presented at the meeting:
- Do nothing and continue with the existing one-lane structure and alignment.
- Renovate the current bridge for higher weight loads and more lanes, requiring a temporary detour.
- Take down the existing bridge and replace it with a new structure.
- Build a new bridge at a different location while keeping the 1922 structure for pedestrians and bicyclists
Construction of a new bridge at the current location or renovation of the existing structure would allow for heavier loads and accommodate two-way traffic. It would not, however, necessarily solve the alignment issues that contribute to safety concerns. And it could mean increased traffic speeds through the community.
The preservation of the current bridge and alignment of a new connection to the south could impact the giant cottonwoods that currently surround the bridge. Those might need to be trimmed back or eliminated. And then there is the funding source for ongoing preservation and maintenance, which presumably would require some sort of community involvement. County manager Jesus Valdez said the county is prepared to participate in that funding if that option is selected, but to what extent is unknown. “I will tell you right now, if the decision from the board (of Supervisors) was to realign it and relocate the bridge, we would participate in the maintenance of the pedestrian (bridge) at some level,” Valdez said.
A new bridge would solve the alignment issue where Upper Elgin Road intersects with Elgin-Canelo Road, plus accommodate heavier loads and allow for two-way traffic. Again, though, is that problem of moderating the speed of traffic.
Roughly 35 people were on hand to learn of bridge options. County personnel and representatives of HDR Inc. were present with storyboards to answer questions. (HDR is the engineering firm and lead bridge designer for the replacement and planning of the bridge.)
While the options remain just that, there were two definitive statements that came out of the open house, which were reiterated by numerous county officials.
- “Nothing has been decided.”
- “Doing nothing is not an option.”
Currently the project is going through Section 4 (f) and Section 106 review, which relates to historic properties and environmental impact. As to when these reviews would be completed, HDR bridge engineer and utility coordinator Daniel Lazarga could only offer a guess — a few months.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking. The county has secured a $3.9 million grant for the project, but the grant is time limited.
Elgin resident Sue Downing, who lives within a stone’s throw of the bridge and has spearheaded the save-the-bridge effort, came away with this impression on Tuesday: “John Fanning said he was committed to preservation, which I was happy to hear. I was disappointed that they didn’t present the estimates on proposal costs that they will use to make a decision.”
While Downing has expressed a preference for the status quo, Fanning doesn’t consider that prudent.
“The bridge that we have out here, it’s a beautiful bridge, historical significance to it, but we can’t do nothing,” he said. “Because it’s already, if you look at the timeline over here, you can see that it’s in poor condition. If we do nothing and something happens, number one, the funding is not going to be there. And number two, people are not going to be able to cross.”
Elgin resident Sharon Raymond said she uses the bridge almost every day and has had three near-accidents in the past year. “I was coming from Sierra Vista to cross the bridge here,” she said. “I was on the bridge and this guy comes flying around the corner, almost took the bumper of my car off, and gave me the finger and went on by. (That’s) because there’s no stop sign coming from the Elgin Road.”
Raymond’s husband, Gene, is in favor of a replacement. “It’s just a dangerous bridge,” he said. “Fifty-seven years ago, it was OK. Nobody lived here. Only ranchers. Thirty years ago, it was fine. But in the last five years, it’s gotten worse than that.”
Downing doesn’t believe the bridge is unsafe as long as weight limits are followed. “The problem is the county has done absolutely nothing to restrict overweight vehicles from going over that bridge,” she said.
But policing weight limits poses a difficult enforcement issue.
“We rely on ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation) to do the enforcement because we don’t have a weigh station,” Valdez said. “So it would be a matter of talking to the sheriff and see what resources we have so that we can start enforcing.”