Caltrans engineers designed a wooden box to protect the statue of Father Francisco Garces during the demolition and rebuilding of the Chester Avenue Bridge. Photos by Jennifer Baldwin

A work crew began constructing the wooden shield around the Father Garces statue in the Garces Circle on Sept. 30, 2009.

Concrete barriers will also protect the statue from work crews and equipment during the reconstruction of the bridge over Chester Avenue.

Father Garces has stood strong for many years.

He made it through the 1952, 7.5 magnitude earthquake that rocked Bakersfield so hard it toppled many downtown buildings as well as the Beale Clock Tower.

He made it through a 50-foot move in 1956 – from the center to the southern edge of the Garces Circle – when the Chester Avenue Bridge was built to take congested traffic over the circle on then-U.S. Highway 99.

And now, 70 years after the statue was created, Father Garces will once again weather possible danger as the Chester Avenue Bridge is rebuilt along what is now State Route 204.

Only this time he’s doing it in a box.

To protect the statue from possible flying debris, Caltrans engineers designed a protective wooden structure to shroud Father Garces around the back, top and sides. The statue is still able to look out from its manger at the passing cars before him.

The decision to leave the statue in place and construct a shield around it took a couple of years of research and discussion. Chris Brewer, an architectural historian for Caltrans who grew up in Bakersfield, helped lead the decision-making.

“I looked at the potential to move it, but my concern was it already had quite a bit of fractures in the statue and base and it could be damaged by moving it,” Brewer said. “So what I finally thought was the best idea (was to) leave this thing alone and put a box around it.”

During the first week of October, a work crew built the wooden structure over the 15-foot-tall statue. The shield is meant to protect Father Garces from possible flying debris, especially during the demolition of the old bridge.

Caltrans also modified some of their work plans to protect the statue, said Bakersfield-based Caltrans engineer Ahron Hakimi.

“For example, initially we planned on driving piles, which are large pieces of steel and concrete driven into the ground. But too much vibration might damage the statue, so we are drilling holes to set the concrete and steel instead,” he said.

Commuters who use State Route 204, also called Golden State Highway, to cross Chester Avenue to and from Highway 99 will also be affected by the bridge construction. Starting Monday, Oct. 19, the eastbound lanes will be closed for demolition and all vehicles will share the two westbound lanes – one lane going each direction. Also parts of the Garces Circle will be closed during demolition, and most likely dirt or another protective material will cover the road below the bridge to protect it from falling debris, Vogel said.

No construction is taking place directly overhead of the statue, Hakimi said. After the eastbound lanes are rebuilt, traffic will be routed to the new half of the bridge and the westbound lanes will then be demolished and rebuilt.

The entire $13 million project will take about a year and a half, with a completion date set for early 2011, Vogel said. The bridge is being built by Griffith Company and is funded by federal stimulus money as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Brewer said he’ll be out there during the bridge demolition next week to make sure the statue remains safe. Not only is it his job, the statue also holds a special, personal spot in his heart.

“I’m just old enough to have known the players in putting that statue up,” he said.

Two of those instrumental people – Anne and Roy Loudon – were close with Brewer. A couple of years before Anne Loudon passed away, she gave Brewer her scrapbook with every clipping, photo, and piece of information she kept about the sculpting and dedication of the statue. John Palo-Kangas, a Finnish sculptor, created the statue in honor of Father Francisco Garces, a Spanish missionary who crossed the Kern River near what is now Bakersfield in 1776 and named the river “Rio de San Felipe.”

Brewer was able to use the scrapbook as he researched the history of the statue for his reports on how to best protect it.

“We all grew up with that thing and I certainly don’t want anything to happen to it,” Brewer said.