Mystery spawned by bridge work
Stephen Curran
San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA
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The soggy soil underneath Paso Robles’ massive 13th Street Bridge widening project holds a messy secret.
Earlier this month, crews carving a path for the $20 million project spanning the Salinas River unearthed possibly hundreds of mangled tires and scraps of metal at the northwest corner of 13th Street and River Road.
The find — a graveyard of sorts for discarded material up to 100 years old – piqued the interest of state Environmental Protection Agency officials, who after being informed of the discovery by a neighbor ordered the city to clean up the waste before moving forward with the expansion.
What evolved is a mystery that’s left neighbors, city engineers and even the citizen-historians who guard the North County community’s rough-and-tumble past crafting theories both mundane and colorful.
The site’s recent history does little to shed light on the discovery. Esperanza said the land where crews are building an Army Corps of Engineers-mandated mitigation pond was once home to a small ranch and more recently housed a shack for plumbing equipment.
Apr 16, 2006
Stephen Curran
San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA
____________________
The soggy soil underneath Paso Robles’ massive 13th Street Bridge widening project holds a messy secret.
Earlier this month, crews carving a path for the $20 million project spanning the Salinas River unearthed possibly hundreds of mangled tires and scraps of metal at the northwest corner of 13th Street and River Road.
The find — a graveyard of sorts for discarded material up to 100 years old – piqued the interest of state Environmental Protection Agency officials, who after being informed of the discovery by a neighbor ordered the city to clean up the waste before moving forward with the expansion.
What evolved is a mystery that’s left neighbors, city engineers and even the citizen-historians who guard the North County community’s rough-and-tumble past crafting theories both mundane and colorful.
The site’s recent history does little to shed light on the discovery. Esperanza said the land where crews are building an Army Corps of Engineers-mandated mitigation pond was once home to a small ranch and more recently housed a shack for plumbing equipment.
Apr 16, 2006
