03Jul-Photo Release – Staten Island is a wildlife sanctuary. A Ranger at the Cosumnes River Preserve, about 5 miles distant, told me about the Preserve at Staten Island. I drove to Cosumnes looking for Sandhill Cranes but there were just a few a long way off, along with a gazillion other waterfowl. So, I drove over to Staten Island. There were a bunch of cranes there but they were really skittish. I didn’t push them. Captured what I could. There were also Geese, Coots, a Redtail hoping for luck, a bunch of Stilts – my first ever – and some Sandhill Cranes. In among the Stilts are a couple of Shoveler Ducks, male and female, also my first.
There are several really unique bridges along the state roads through the delta area. There are canals and sloughs going every which way so those roads cross bridges fairly often and the bridges are all cool. This one is special.
03Jul-Photo Release
Staten Island February 21, 2019
The Steamboat Slough Bridge is a significant historic landmark located in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, carrying State Route 160 traffic over Steamboat Slough. Constructed in 1924, this charming structure is a classic example of a Strauss heel-trunnion bascule bridge, a design renowned for its functional elegance and mechanical ingenuity.
Designed by the Chicago-based Strauss Bascule Bridge Company, the bridge features a movable through-truss span that once served as a vital link for river traffic during the region’s agricultural heyday. While many of the Delta’s movable bridges were constructed during the 1920s to accommodate the era’s active steamboat and barge transit, the Steamboat Slough Bridge remains a testament to that transformative period in California transportation history.
Over the last century, the bridge has undergone several rehabilitations to ensure its continued safety and utility, including a major overhaul in 1953 that replaced original wooden decking with modern materials. Despite these necessary upgrades—which also include modern control equipment and a replaced tender house—the bridge retains much of its original truss design and character. Today, it stands not just as a piece of vital infrastructure, but as an evocative reminder of the Delta’s river-based heritage. For locals and visitors alike, catching the sight of the bridge in motion remains a classic experience, connecting the quiet beauty of Sutter Island to the mainland and offering a tangible link to the storied past of California’s inland waterways.
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