Then-and-now: See steel truss bridge that once crossed the Salinas River in Paso Robles
Editor’s note: This is one in our new “Then and Now” series comparing historical San Luis Obispo County photos to the same locations today.
Throughout its history, Paso Robles was known for a shallow ford point in the Salinas river where cattle and horses could cross when the water was low enough.
Sandy in the summer and often running strong in the winter, the Salinas is sometimes called an upside-down river because sand covers subterranean waters flowing below the surface.
In the early 20th century, the river was spanned by a truss bridge after a damaging storm in 1914 took out 200 feet of the previous bridge.
The steel bridge was built to last — and it did for more than half a century, until is was eventually demolished to make way for a new structure in April 1966.
Paso Robles Municipal Services Director Jay Lyon recalled the bridge’s demolition In a February 1987 Telegram-Tribune interview with reporter Phil Dirkx.
The first attempt to blow up the old bridge only caused it to shudder, he said.
“I watched them scare the pigeons off the 13th Street bridge,” he said. “They finally had to use more charges.”
During construction of the new bridge, traffic was detoured on a temporary crossing in the riverbed.
“We went to San Ardo and borrowed culverts from Texaco,” he said. “Fortunately the river never flowed much that year.”
After the current 13th street bridge was completed, it was expanded over three decades later in a two-year, $20 million project starting in June 2004.
In 2000 more than 15,000 cars a day crossed the bridge.
Here’s a look at how the current bridge looks now compared to the original steel truss structure nearly 60 years ago. Use the slider tool to compare the images.
This story was originally published August 31, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
