A year later, bridge still stuck in the air after copper theft

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

The Brazos Bridge over the Napa River is accessible by foot, just steps from Milton Road.

On Nov. 28, 2007, thieves walked out to the bridge in the pitch black night, scaled about five stories of outside scaffolding and reached the top of the bridge, which towers over the Napa River as it winds through Carneros.

The thieves broke into the control tower and electrical boxes at the top of the bridge and ripped out the copper wiring and controls that lower and raise the bridge — part of a surge of recyclable metals thefts taking place across the country.

When they left, the bridge was in the up position, the trestle that could bear the weight of rail cars 50 feet above the tracks on either side of the river. Nearly a year later, it is still stuck in the up position.

As for the thieves? They’re not stuck at all.

According to Napa County Sheriff’s investigators, deputies patrolling the Carneros area saw a pickup truck parked on Milton Road at the entrance to the bridge on the night of the theft. They also heard noise coming from the area.

Deciding not to risk the dangers of climbing the bridge to reach the thieves, the deputies waited several hours before two men finally surrendered and descended from the bridge. They did not have the copper wiring with them; it was piled below on the bridge.

Napa County Sheriff’s Capt. John Robertson said the copper wire was recovered and returned to the owner.

The men were arrested and charged with stealing the copper wiring and damaging the bridge controls.

Though the men were caught on the bridge, they were not carrying tools nor did they have other evidence of theft.

When the case went to court, according to Robertson, the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence.

Metal racket

The loss of the copper wire and damage is estimated at $250,000, according to Robertson, the largest dollar loss for metal theft in Napa County. However, it is far from an isolated case. In recent years, it has been routine for thieves to steal metal material for recycling.

The Brazos Bridge is a classic example of the brazen and often dangerous feats the thieves will attempt to get that roll of copper wire, that bronze knob, or stainless steel down spout, just to name a few targets.

For the last few years, the metal theft racket has run rampant all over the country. Thieves can make a quick and easy buck ripping off metals and selling them to recycling plants. The stolen metals are hard to trace, making it difficult for police to make arrests and seek convictions.

Thieves are willing to risk being electrocuted, since much of the copper wiring stolen has electricity running through it, as well as climbing considerable heights to get at the metals.

Most of the thefts happen at night at unsecured sites.

The wave of thefts has prompted a reaction across the country. Nearly 30 states have enacted laws to clamp down on the resale of metals, and federal legislation has been introduced.

The Coalition Against Copper Theft, a lobbying trade group whose members include telecommunications companies, public power companies, building contractors, railroads and appliance manufacturers, is pushing for tougher laws.

Up in the air

How soon will the Brazos Bridge off Milton Road be able to function again?

The bridge is owned by the North Coast Railroad Authority, while the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit district owns the railroad track.

“We have never used the track,” said SMART spokesman Chris Coursey, who added the agency has no plans to do so. “Our agency is trying to restore passenger rail service from Cloverdale to Larkspur.” Those plans do not envision use of rail lines that arc along the Carneros region through Sonoma and Napa counties to Lombard Junction, the yard south of American Canyon.

Mitch Stogner, director of the NCRA, said his company has the easement rights for the tracks that run from just south of Novato over the Petaluma River, past the Brazos Bridge and to Lombard Junction.

“We plan to run freight trains,” said Stogner, whose firm has an operating agreement with SMART. “We are responsible for the maintenance of the entire tracks we have easement rights to, including Brazos Bridge,” Stonger said.

In 2007, NCRA was awarded $37 million from the California Transportation Commission to repair 62 miles of track, including the Brazos Bridge.

“Once that repair is done, we will start running freight,” he said.

The repair work hit a standstill when the city of Novato filed an injunction against NCRA from doing repairs until they completed an environmental impact report. Stonger said an EIR was not a requirement.

A settlement between Novato and NCRA was reached Nov. 3, Stonger said.

“We were cleared to contract out the repair work. We notified the contractor who is doing all of the bridge repair work, including the Brazos Bridge. The contract has been awarded to have mechanical and electrical repairs to the Brazos Bridge,” Stonger said.

Stonger did not have an estimate for when the work would be complete.

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