Northern California Coastal Bridges Book by Author Marques Vickers

Author and photographer Marques Vickers explores and photographs twenty unique bridges in his “Northern California Coastal Bridges: Picturesque and Distinctive Spans”. The photographic edition is the first in a series of three Pacific Coast profiles highlighting unique and distinguished steel, stone and concrete fabricated structures. The book features diverse vehicle, railroad and pedestrian crossings stretched along coastal Northern California. Over 130 images capture a variety of perspectives and construction details.

Prominent inclusions are three bridges spanning San Francisco Bay including the Golden Gate, San Francisco-Oakland and San Mateo-Richmond Bridges. Lesser known are several crossings integrated into northbound Interstate 101, also known as the Redwood Highway leading into Oregon. These spans include the Pickleweed Inlet, Irwin Creek, Eel River South Fork and Samoa Island Bridges.

Numerous smaller community bridges are profiled including the Arroyo Grande Creek, Jennifer Street, Pearl Street, Mare Island Causeway, Healdsburg Avenue, Rio Dell, Fernbridge Bridges and Loleta Railroad Trestle. These diminutive spans augment better-known commuter bridges including the Carquinez Strait, Benicia-Martinez, Blackpoint, and Napa River Bridges. Historical backgrounds are included for all the spans along with design specifics and dimensions.

The author’s basis for selection was each bridge’s photo accessibility and intriguing backgrounds. He adds in his preface, “My selections may not represent the most important, aesthetic or even heavily traveled spans. However, each has a personal significance.”

For the past three years, Vickers has been photographing and documenting diverse and often unknown Pacific Coast attractions, architecture, wine, true crime and other lifestyle related subjects. The coastal bridge series showcases the diversity of structural designs coupled by the examination of the regional dependence on waterways and pragmatic coexistence solutions.