Felton’s most famous local landmark will soon receive a new hat. The Federal Highway Administration has granted Caltrans $248,238 to replace the entire roof of the 140-foot covered bridge that crosses the San Lorenzo River.
“It was Friday morning when we got the word via e-mail,” Santa Cruz County Parks Director Bob Olson said. “It’s a pretty big thing.”
The county applied for the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation grant from the FHA after heavy March storms damaged a portion of the bridge’s roof. Instead of repairing only a corner of the roof, Olson’s department applied for a grant to repair the entire roof. It was last replaced after storm damage in the mid-1980s, when the bridge was fully restored to its 1908 appearance.
“Today’s grant to Santa Cruz County to restore the dridge in Felton will put people to work and restore a national historic landmark,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, who wrote a letter to the FHA in favor of the grant. “I’m thrilled for the community, because the Federal Highway Administration grant speaks volumes about the importance of this historic bridge and the local community effort to restore it. I will continue to work with the community through the completion of this critical project.”
The covered bridge was eligible for the grant because it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. When it was first built in 1892, the bridge was the gateway into Felton and served horse and buggy. It won a National Historic Preservation Award in 1988 and is used as a walking bridge over the San Lorenzo River that leads from Felton to the Felton Covered Bridge Park.
The roof will be repaired with hand-split redwood “shakes” (shingles) to maintain the historical character of the bridge.
Olson said he has not yet heard from Caltrans regarding the money, but the work will take place during the dry summer months, likely next year.
