West Cliff Drive bridge

The West Cliff Drive bridge carries West Cliff Drive over the railroad tracks that follow the course of the now-undergrounded creek that carries overflow from Neary Lagoon to Monterey Bay. The first vehicle bridge at this location was a low wharf-style construction by Elihu Anthony. A higher bridge was built (probably by S. J. Lynch) when the Santa Cruz Railroad tracks were laid in 1875. The current heavy-timber-truss bridge dates from 1918, and remains in use following major renovation in 2000.

• History Pages: 29 - How the trains came to Santa Cruz (part 2)

Notes

• The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture (4th ed. 2023), Chapter One, item (13).
• A drawing of the Anthony bridge can be seen in Panorama 1: Bird’s Eye View of Santa Cruz, 1870