More than 1,200 bridges around the state were targeted by Caltrans for strengthening after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, but state budget woes have prevented nearly half from being fixed.

Caltrans quit investing in the program in 2002 even though for every $11.50 the state contributes, it receives $88.50 in federal matching funds.

Many cash-strapped cities and counties say they are unable to generate enough funds to trigger the federal match, leaving bridge replacements or retrofit projects stalled or shelved.

Officials in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration said the state has no money to put into the program. Nor does the Republican governor include bridge spending in his $68 billion bond plan, a huge infrastructure initiative that still must be approved by the Legislature. But a rival bond plan by the Senate's top Democrat would help fund the county and city bridge repairs.

"When I hear about California being a donor state, this program is the first thing I think of," said Kevin Howze, manager of the engineering division in the Department of Transportation and Public Works in Sonoma County -- one of the few localities that has found enough money to reinforce some of its own bridges.

Caltrans estimates it would cost $762 million to complete the remaining reinforcement projects. Because of the matching ratio, California would contribute $96 million and receive $666 million in federal dollars.

Elevated BART tracks are included among the Bay Area bridges in need of renovation or replacement.

Cash to renew Caltrans' investment is contained in a bond proposal being pushed by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland.

It's unclear whether money for the program will be part of whatever final deal on the bond program is negotiated between lawmakers and Schwarzenegger. Democrats predict the bridge repair program will be part of whatever package emerges because a relatively small state contribution yields major federal dollars.

"We would be willing to consider it as part of the negotiations," said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's Department of Finance.

Born out of San Francisco's Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, the seismic retrofit program was supposed to reinforce 1,234 local bridges identified by the state.

Caltrans conducted another program to reinforce bridges on state highways, in particular those in the Bay Area.

Under both programs, each bridge was to be reinforced to withstand whatever major earthquake could occur in its vicinity. A bridge near the San Andreas Fault would be buttressed to withstand a greater shock than one in Sacramento, for example.

Budget woes led Gov. Gray Davis to halt state spending in January 2003, leaving nearly half the projects in the lurch.

Some counties -- like San Francisco, Solano and Sonoma -- have limped along using local money to cover what previously was the state's contribution.

Of the 26 bridges identified by the state for reinforcement, Sonoma is down to 12. Using local money, the county completed a $2.3 million replacement of Grange Road bridge southeast of Santa Rosa over the winter.

The county is in the midst of replacing a bridge on the outskirts of the city of Sonoma and just awarded a contract to retrofit a bridge near Cloverdale on Corker Road.

"It's a slow pace, but we've still been able to keep the program going forward," said Howze. "But the money we use for those projects is money that could be used elsewhere."

San Francisco has two projects under way, the largest being the Fourth Street bridge in China Basin, with a $15.2 million price tag. The city has one more bridge awaiting reinforcement.

Caltrans noted that 227 of the bridges needing reinforcement in the Bay Area are elevated BART tracks. BART has a $1.3 billion earthquake safety program that includes reinforcing the elevated tracks. The transit agency is banking on $134 million from the state but passed a $980 million bond in November 2004 to pay for the lion's share of the improvements.

But for most counties, the loss of state money meant putting projects on hold.

That's how it is in Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

"We have a large area and a small population, so it's hard to raise money for these kinds of things," said Bob Parker, assistant transportation director for Mendocino County.

The state program identified six bridges for reinforcement in Mendocino. Three projects were put on hold when the state withdrew funding.

"We have a small staff in the engineering division," Parker said. "Right now we're trying to do storm-damage repairs."

Humboldt County had 22 bridges flagged by Caltrans for replacement or retrofit. Four remain unfinished. The county paid for reinforcing the Fort Seward Road bridge over the Eel River.

One bridge on the state's seismic list is at the top of the county's own replacement list because it's old and a single lane.

"Those projects stalled when the funding stalled," said Chris Whitworth, deputy director of engineering at Humboldt's Department of Public Works. "There is a strong public safety interest in getting the projects on the state list completed."

Budget cuts led the state to stop putting money into a program to reinforce local bridges to withstand future earthquakes. Of 1,234 bridges targeted by the program, 543 still have not been replaced or strengthened.

Here are the bridge projects, by county, waiting to be done in the Bay Area:

Alameda -- 19

Contra Costa -- 5

Marin -- 2

Napa -- 0

San Francisco -- 1

San Mateo -- 1

Santa Clara -- 10

Solano -- 1

Sonoma -- 12

BART -- 227 elevated track projects in various counties

San Francisco is using its own money to complete two projects, Sonoma County three projects and Solano County is paying for one project.

Source: Caltrans list of bridge projects in design or pre-strategy phase

E-mail Greg Lucas at glucas@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle