At the Tujunga Avenue crossing in Studio City, a new concrete bridge has been erected across the Los Angeles River.

It hearkens back to the type of public works that once characterized the Southland, those hybrids of modern engineering and classical proportions built before World War II.

There are simple, vertical pilasters holding up the banister and restrained, carved concrete. A graceful arch, underneath the bridge, lightens the visual weight of this piece of architectural engineering.

It stands in contrast to the uglier steel railing bridge further to the west on Colfax. The Tujunga Avenue Bridge is self-assured, sculpted out of one exterior material that dazzles in the blinding sunlight.

I predict that nobody in the LA Times will write paeans of praise for this bridge. It doesn’t scream for attention with odd and innovative shapes. It isn’t upsetting or anti-social like the famed Caltrans building. It isn’t named after some wealthy benefactor.

It is an anonymous gift, a necessary roadway, carrying cars; aiding commerce, and paid for by our taxes.