State Park & Bridge Update, 4/18/09

Bidding for the installation of a temporary Bailey Bridge closed yesterday, 4/17. Part of the required bidding process was a guarantee that the installation would be completed within 30 days of the awarding of the contract.

Current speculation regarding how camping reservations will be handled for the summer traffic at the Big Sur State Park is that it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, starting the day the bridge opens. The Bailey Bridge will be one lane, controlled by a signal light.

The closure of the State Park is putting a burden on the remaining campsites, which down here on the South Coast are filled *beyond* capacity. That, in turn, is leading to camping in undeveloped areas of the forest. As XT points out, the closure of much of USFS (and state) lands in Big Sur, due to the 2008 fires, has lead to additional stress on the unburned and highly vulnerable areas of the Los Padres National Forest. This is a lose-lose situation.