How did Paso Robles get 2 of its most important bridges? It starts with more dynamite
You would never use a niblick to cross the Salinas River — unless you were talking about the Niblick Road bridge.
Ahhhh, here you thought we were talking about niblick, the ancient golf club (roughly a 9 iron)? Hitting from the river bank, the old wooden-handled club would be lucky to drop a golf ball into the riverbed, alternately a sand trap or water feature.
But to bridge the topic: Bridges and infrastructure have been in the news recently.
Old bridges are becoming rare, though the county recently restored truss bridge in Whitley Gardens that has a role in movie history.
The Niblick Bridge is of the newer era where all the support is hidden under the deck.
Back in the day, El Paso de Robles (translated to “Pass of the Oaks”) had limited all-weather ways to cross the river via automobile.
For decades it was just the Highway 46 and 13th Street bridges.
In 1987, the city built the Niblick Road bridge, which was so useful, expansion was needed almost as soon as it was completed.
“We will be outgrowing it almost before it is built,” a city official said at the time.
When Paso Robles municipal services director Jay Lyon retired in 1987 with the completion of the first Niblick bridge, he recalled the beginning of his decades-long career and the replacement of the old truss bridge on 13th Street.
Here are some excerpts from a story reporter Phil Dirkx wrote on the topic in February 1987:
Paso Robles worker recalls work on 13th street bridge
Lyon, a trim-looking 58-year-old, who usually wears cowboy boots and cowboy-cut clothes, sat behind his desk last week, reminiscing about his first days with the city.
“The 13th Street bridge was out to bid,” he recalled. “The council had just approved the demolition of the old bridge.”
The first attempt to blow up the old bridge only caused it to shudder.
“I watched them scare the pigeons off the 13th Street bridge,” he said. “They finally had to use more charges.”
During the bridge construction, traffic was detoured on a temporary crossing in the river bed.
“We went to San Ardo and borrowed culverts from Texaco,” he said. “Fortunately the river never flowed much that year.”
