New rail bridge may stall Petaluma River traffic

As the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit project builds infrastructure ahead of starting the first passenger train service on the North Bay in 60 years, it is altering the transportation landscape at every point where the tracks cross a road or a river. Perhaps the biggest change will be felt by the users of the Petaluma River, Sonoma County’s only navigable waterway.

Once train service starts late next year with as many as 30 trains a day to the tracks, the new drawbridge that SMART is installing over the Petaluma River will have to be closed more frequently, potentially blocking recreational and commercial river traffic. But maritime experts say that boats have the legal right of way.

“There is nothing on this planet that has the right-of-way over a vessel traveling on our navigable water ways,” said David Sulouff, bridge administrator for the Coast Guard district that includes Petaluma. “No cars, no trains. Nothing,”

That includes SMART trains, which were unveiled earlier this month to a boisterous crowd in Cotati.

Sulouff said that in the event a boat, commercial ship or any navigable watercraft can not safely make it under the bridge when it is down, the operator of the boat will have the right to have the bridge raised, even if it means a SMART train, filled with commuters trying to get to work, has to stop and wait for the boat to pass.

“It’s federal law,” said Sulouff, citing the River and Harbor Act of 1899 and the General Bridge Act of 1946. “Vessels always have the right of way, and SMART will have to learn how to work with the boats. But users of the waterway will need to be aware of the train schedules and get accustomed to this new, active bridge.”

SMART’s chief engineer, Bill Gamlen, said the rail authority would be working with the Coast Guard and following its standards.

“We are still working out how the bridge will operate. Mostly we are working with the train schedules,” said Gamlen. “Once the trains are running, it will be easier to put the pieces together.”

Sulouff said he hoped boaters and users of the river would work with SMART’s train schedule and “common sense” would prevail.

“Vessels always have the right of way, but if you can navigate under the bridge while it is down, you are legally obligated to do so,” he said.

Sulouff said it is illegal to signal for the bridge to be raised if it is not needed. The current swing bridge over the river at Haystack Landing sits mostly in the open position and only closes for the few freight trains that ply the tracks per week, mostly at night. Sulouff said boaters need to get used to the changed conditions.

“Waterway users will need to become familiar with the commuter train schedules and get accustomed to working with an active bridge,” he said.

The Haystack Landing swing bridge was manufactured by the Pennsylvania Steel Company in 1903. The single-track, steel truss swing bridge replaced an 1870 wooden bridge over the Petaluma River, constructed as part of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad line from Petaluma to San Rafael.

SMART officials say the newer, 30-year old drawbridge purchased from a Texas firm, will be operational this July.

Concerns have been raised about the new bridge’s clearance at high tide. The Coast Guard issued a public notice last May, showing that the newer bridge would be 33 feet longer then the old bridge, but it would be one foot shorter in vertical clearance, sitting 3.5 feet above the surface of the water during an average high tide.

The river’s largest commercial user, Lind Marine, which operates a fleet of tugboats and barges based in Petaluma, could see a significant impact to its business if the bridge is closed more frequently, said Christian Lind, the general manager.

“It will be a problem for us to have it in the down position,” he said.

Greg Sabourin, who founded the North Bay Rowing Club and currently serves as Executive Director of the Petaluma Small Craft Center, said his worry was that crew teams from the local high schools and colleges would have problems with the bridge. The boats used by coaches to follow their teams would have difficulty passing under the bridge, he said.

“The current bridge is mostly open all the time because there isn’t a lot of train traffic. Our concerns are that the bridge will be closed most of the time to accommodate the trains,” he said. “Obviously we need a bridge for our trains, but are we going to be looking at a bridge that is always closed? Will SMART petition the Coast Guard to leave the bridge in a closed position for their trains?”

Sulouff said operation of the bridge was SMART’s responsibility, including keeping the river available for boat traffic and navigation.

He said SMART could face civil penalties as high as $25,000 for creating “unreasonable delays” to waterway traffic.

(Contact E. A. Barrera at argus@arguscourier.com.)