Mokelumne Bridge broken, no openings

C

Comfortably Numb

Member
exMember
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
RO Number
29205
Messages
283
FYI, the Mokelumne river bridge at B&W resort, highway 12 is broken and will not open for boat traffic for 3-4 days. Apparently it was stuck open for car traffic a few times, closng H12 during the week and they decided to keep it closed until they can get parts. I heard 3-4 days, not confirmed. I tried to get to Moores from Oxbow last evening and could not get under so went to Tower. We are trying to get tide tables to figure if it might be possible today - I need 11 1/2 feet with my bimini and such down, and it was 10 1/2 last night.

Just an FYI if you are heading that way. Have a great day,

Jim
 
Thanks for the heads up. I heard on the news that it was stuck open to boat traffic last week and hadn't heard any more about it. I keep my boat at Moore's and often pass that way to Georgianna Sl or the Moke. At least I'll be able to drive to the marina easily westbound on Hwy 12. Hope they find/fabricate the parts soon.

These bridges seem to be failing more often every year. We had some problems with the Miller Ferry Bridge a couple weeks ago, too. They sure need some updating, like they did a couple years ago on the Three Mile Sl Bridge.
 
These bridges are all very old using very old technology. Parts are not available, so orders have to go out to have them designed and made to order. This is all done under CalTrans. With the budget fiasco in Sacramento, this will be even more complicated. I would not expect a fix to be forthcoming soon, especial with the "end of boating season" upon us.

From Tower Park, you can continue south to the SJ Channel, then go west to the mouth of the Mokelumne and the Loop. That is the only work around for that bridge. It takes longer and uses more fuel, but it is a nice cruise!
 
I am amazed that some of the bridges are still standing they are so old! The Moke bridge gets opened and closed so often - I beleive they are on the "20's", so it really gets a workout. A lot of the smaller ones see so much less traffic, both boats and cars. I would not be surprised if they cut it to 2x an hour just to save wear and tear.

A couple of night ago when we were heading to Moores, we did that, but got to Tower and decided to spend the night. Had a good time, but was really pissed off to see several partons of the bar kick and throw bottles into the river, as well as send several cig butts that way. I was livid, but not in and position to get into a battle with a couple of pretty drunk cowboys, but I did go in ant talk to the bar in the morning. Hopefull they will watch it more closley, and maybe add more trash/ash trays on the deck.

We did a bit of checking, and the bridge said they can have 13 feet at low tide, so with a bit of planning, many good size boats can get under.

Jim
 
I've never witnessed that kind of behavior at Tower......I hope it was an isolated incident! I think you were wise to not take on a couple of drunkards......
 
Flutterby,

I was pretty upset - I'm starting to get protective of my Delta! Hopefully it was an odd thing and not the norm. It was a generally nice bunch and I met most of them, and at the end of the evening, about 6 Sherrif's took one of them away - they had apparently been looking for him for something. He was escorted out quietly with an incident. It turns out my top deck is at the exact height of the outside deck there, so I had a front row seat, with 12 feet of dock between us! Kinda cool.

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top