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Coronado Bridge Historical Resources Evaluation
September/October 2021
 Building of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, c. 1968. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons |
The Department of California Transportation (Caltrans) had a Historical Resources Evaluation Report prepared about the c. 1969 San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge and its associated infrastructure for the Section 106 review process. This report identified the bridge, toll plaza, connector ramps, and more as a potential historic district eligible for listing in the National Register of Historical Places. The report also explained the bridge is eligible individually for the national register, the state and local historical registers, and that it contributes to the State Scenic Highway Route 75.
As the last intact Mid-Century Modern toll plaza complex in California, the potential San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge Historic District is a significant example of steel bridge technology, represents modern design and architecture, and illustrates the work of Master Architect Robert Mosher. Also included within this eligible district is Chicano Park, a National Historical Landmark in its own right, and significant as the largest collection of Chicano murals in the world.
After the Golden Gate Bridge, this bridge is the most frequently used for suicide in the country. Approved in 2019, Senate Bill 656 initiated the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge Suicide Deterrent Project, prompting Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This requires a federal agency, in this case the Department of Transportation, to communicate with consulting parties such as SOHO to consider public concerns and issues about historic preservation when making project decisions.
As a Section 106 consulting party, SOHO has provided input on the working design concept (poles with transparent netting spaced 20' to 30' apart), its consistency with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, and impacts to the historical resources and district. Although the solution tries to be the least visually obtrusive and the working design has improved throughout the process, SOHO continues not to support a Section 106 finding of "No Adverse Effect" due to the visual impact of the mesh netting and poles when driving across the bridge. The barrier's design is still evolving and SOHO will weigh in again once there is an Environmental Assessment/Environmental Impact Report.
Editor's note: If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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