Historic Green Bridge near Covelo collapses, driver escapes with minor injuries

The Green Bridge over Mill Creek on Hill Road at Eel River Ranch Road collapsed as a man drove across it about 6:40 p.m. June 13, sending the vehicle into the water below and overturning it onto its roof near the river. The driver got out with only minor injuries, and motorists were told to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

The failure landed hard in Round Valley because the bridge had been a known problem for years. Local reporting and county records show more than 20 years of debate over whether to replace or renovate the span, with replacement efforts stretching back at least to 2012. Mendocino County secured federal funding for a replacement project that year, with an initial allocation of about $600,000, and right-of-way acquisition was completed in 2024. Even with that progress, the bridge still failed before a new crossing was built.

The bridge itself has long carried a contested history. One source places its construction in 1925, while county history has also described it as dating to the 1930s. At about 120 feet long, the Green Bridge became a symbol of the tension between preservation and safety, with some residents arguing for historic preservation or for keeping it as a pedestrian bridge alongside a new span.

The collapse also put a spotlight on the county agencies responsible for keeping rural access open. Mendocino County says its Department of Transportation maintains 1,017 miles of county roads and 157 bridges, a reminder of how much of the region’s daily travel depends on a small number of aging crossings. The failed bridge sits in a corridor where fire and emergency response can already be difficult, and local reporting says losing it could slow access for crews moving through Covelo, Round Valley, and toward the Mendocino National Forest.

The bridge did not completely isolate the area because other crossings are nearby, but the detour burden and emergency access risk are immediate. For Covelo and surrounding communities, the collapse turned a long-running infrastructure dispute into a practical test of how quickly officials can restore safe passage before the next road closure becomes the next emergency.