Cradlebaugh bridge project on Highway 395 substantially done

A project to buttress Cradlebaugh bridge on Highway 395 crossing the Carson River has been substantially completed, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Two bridges cross the Carson River and two cross the adjacent Cradlebaugh Slough were seismically retrofitted with approximately 20,000 pounds of reinforcing steel and other improvements as part of the state’s effort to retrofit older bridges for enhanced safety and stability during potential earthquakes.

Roughly 8,000 cubic yards of rock was also placed in the riverbed to reduce future erosion of the bridge supports, and other bridge rehabilitation and improvements made.

During construction, crews placed a diversion in the river that diverted up to 2,000 cubic feet per second of river flow around areas of construction.

The $1.6 million project by contractor Granite Construction Company began in November.

The original Cradlebaugh Bridge was built in 1861 by William “Uncle Billy” Cradlebaugh, who also operated the toll road between Carson City and points south.

In his obituary appearing in the Gardnerville Record, Cradlebaugh crossed the plains in 1852, arriving in Placerville. Seven years later, in 1859, he settled in Carson Valley where he had a wayside inn.

The route shortened the distance between Carson City and the boomtown of Aurora. The original bridge is a quarter mile west of its current location.

The toll road was purchased by Douglas County in 1895 for $5,000, according to the Nevada State Preservation Office.

Cradlebaugh was brother to famous Judge John Cradlebaugh, who held court upstairs in a barn in Genoa.