Bridge removal backed by flood committee

RENO -- A historic downtown Reno bridge should be torn down and replaced with a new bridge to enhance Truckee River flood-control efforts, a coalition of local officials decided last week.

The Flood Project Coordinating Committee's action Friday concerning the 102-year-old Virginia Street bridge followed a similar decision last month by the Reno City Council.

The bridge acts as a bottleneck during floods, causing water to spread through Reno.

The bridge became legendary after it was portrayed by Hollywood and the media as the site where people tossed wedding rings into the Truckee after securing divorces at the nearby courthouse, state Archivist Guy Rocha said.

The flood committee, which includes officials from Reno, Sparks and Washoe County, earlier bowed to the wishes of historic preservationists who sought to save the structure. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month called the feasibility of restoring the bridge into question.

Reno officials are continuing discussions with the State Office of Historic Preservation over a 1996 agreement that committed the city to restoring the bridge.