Rustic Canyon Bridge: A Look Back & Forward

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

A couple of years after Harriet Zaretsky moved into Rustic Canyon in 1978, the footbridge across Rustic Creek near her home on 801 Latimer was washed out in an intense storm that caused mud slides, flooded houses, damaged cars, and swept away multiple bridges

In the aftermath, the local Pioneer magazine reported that the destruction caused by “the 100-year storm” of Feb. 16, 1980, stemmed from a trio of events: 1) A fall 1978 “burn on the watershed in upper Rustic” 2) “Three to four days of light mist and rainfall resulting in a total saturation of the watershed;” and 3) “A driving high frequency rainfall” on Feb. 16.

Afterwards, the community began the recovery process, and many residents sought to replace the Rustic Canyon Bridge. However, the land where it was located was part of an easement that stretched to Sunset Blvd., and a neighbor to the north, Steve Tisch, preferred that the bridge not return, claiming the easement had been abandoned, Zaretsky said. He filed a court order to prevent new construction, and his neighbors filed a countersuit.

“The case dragged on for about five years,” Zaretsky said. In 1987, “we prevailed as a safety issue…. Among other considerations, the judge said that if there was a fire, then the bridge would at least let people get out of the Canyon.”

Once the case ended, the community raised about $50,000 to rebuild the bridge, Zaretsky said.

It was not the first time the bridge over Rustic Creek needed to be replaced, she said. In 1935, a storm damaged a bridge that allowed vehicle traffic to cross the creek and drive to Sunset, but it was not rebuilt. Instead, the pedestrian bridge became the new way to cross the creek.

Unfortunately, almost 40 years after the Tisch lawsuit’s conclusion, the bridge again needs to be replaced due to rotting wood, which has caused it to list on the right side.

“It would be great if we could come together for the bridge and not put the burden on any particular group,” Zaretsky said. “We really want to bring the community together for the common good.”

So far, the community has stepped up. Residents have donated $150,000 of the estimated $253,000 needed to replace the bridge with a prefabricated steel bridge with a weathered wood finish, according to Robyn Buecker, the president of the board of The Uplifters Roads, Inc., which is composed of about 70 families who live in the upper Latimer neighborhood and own the easement.

Construction is scheduled to begin in January of 2027, and the goal is to complete the project the same year, Buecker said. Donations can be sent through the project website—rusticcanyonbridge.com.

The total bridge cost, which was attained through a bidding process with licensed, insured contractors, is as follows:

Excel Bridge Manufacturing Co. — $89,000

Boulder Contracting Company — $84,000

Architecture & Permits — $35,000

Grading & Asphalt Repair — $15,000

Structural Engineering — $15,000

Delivery to Site — $5,000

Contingency — $10,000

Total: $253,000‍ ‍

A rendering of the proposed replacement of the Rustic Canyon Bridge.