Tower Bridge (Sacramento, California)

Last updated

Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge Sacramento edit.jpg
The Tower Bridge just after sunset
Coordinates 38°34′50″N121°30′30″W / 38.580556°N 121.508333°W / 38.580556; -121.508333
CarriesCars, bicycles, pedestrians, and previously railroad on 4 vehicle lanes and 2 bicycle lanes of California 275.svg SR 275 (Tower Bridge Gateway/Capitol Mall)
Crosses Sacramento River, West Sacramento/Sacramento city limits, and Yolo/Sacramento county line
Locale West Sacramento and Sacramento, California
Maintained by Caltrans
NBI22 0021
Characteristics
Design Vertical lift bridge
Total length737 ft (225 m)
Width52 ft (16 m)
Height160 ft (49 m)
Longest span209 ft (64 m) lift span
No. of spans8
Piers in water2
Clearance below 100 ft (30 m) above high water
History
ArchitectAlfred Eichler
Constructed byGeorge Pollock & Company
Construction costUS$994,000(equivalent to $21,220,000 in 2022)
OpenedDecember 15, 1935
Replaces1910 Sacramento Northern Railway swing through-truss bridge
Tower Bridge
ArchitectAlfred Eichler
Architectural styleSpan Drive Type
NRHP reference No. 82004845
Designated 1982
Location
Tower Bridge (Sacramento, California)
References
[1] [2] [3] [4]

The Tower Bridge is a vertical lift bridge across the Sacramento River, linking West Sacramento in Yolo County to the west, with the capital of California, Sacramento, in Sacramento County to the east. It has also been known as M Street Bridge. It was previously a part of U.S. Route 40 until that highway was truncated to east of Salt Lake City as well as US Route 99W, which served the western portion of the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Red Bluff. The bridge is maintained by the California Department of Transportation as part of State Route 275 and connects West Capitol Avenue and Tower Bridge Gateway in West Sacramento with the Capitol Mall in Sacramento.

Contents

In 1982, the Tower Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [3]

History

Developing the bridge

The Tower Bridge replaced the 1911 M Street Bridge in Sacramento, [5] which was originally a swing through-truss railroad bridge. Later, 9-foot (2.7 m) roadway sections were added as cantilevered sections on both sides of the existing rail bridge. [4] Sacramento's population more than doubled between 1910 and 1935, rendering the existing bridge inadequate. In 1933, the city realized that it needed a better crossing over the Sacramento River in case of war. [1]

On December 22, 1933, the State of California, Sacramento County, and the Sacramento Northern Railway held a conference to plan the new bridge, with an agreement reached on March 8, 1934. Under the terms of the agreement, Sacramento Northern Railway relinquished its rights to the 1911 M Street Bridge in return for the rights to rail traffic over the new bridge until March 21, 1960, which was the original expiration date of its franchise to operate rail traffic over the 1911 bridge. [6] Construction commenced on July 20, 1934. Road traffic was diverted to the I Street Bridge, and rail traffic was diverted to a temporary timber-and-steel "shoofly" bridge approximately 75 ft (23 m) of the existing M Street Bridge. [4]

Design

Tower Bridge at dusk. Tower Bridge, Sacramento, CA.jpg
Tower Bridge at dusk.
The Tower Bridge raised halfway SacramentoTowerBridgeRaised.jpg
The Tower Bridge raised halfway

Tower Bridge was initially designed with a 52 ft (16 m) wide roadway with sidewalks, with single lanes for cars flanking a large 13-foot (4.0 m) center lane for trains. [4] The towers are 160 ft (49 m). From east to west, the bridge consists of a 30 ft (9.1 m) long girder span, a 167 ft (51 m) long eastern truss approach span, the 209 ft (64 m) long central lift span, a 193 ft (59 m) long western approach span and four 34 ft (10 m) long girder spans. With the draw up, there is 100 feet (30 m) of vertical clearance above high water with a 172-foot (52 m) wide navigation channel between the timber pier fenders. Although the lift span weighs 1,150 short tons (1,040 t), the use of an equal amount of counterweights (located in each tower) means the span is operated with two relatively small 100-horsepower (75 kW) electric motors. [4]

The bridge style represents a rare use of Streamline Moderne architectural styling in a lift bridge, making it an outstanding expression of the social and architectural climate of the period of construction. [1] The lift span towers were sheathed in steel to streamline its appearance. [6] The American Institute of Steel Construction gave the Tower Bridge an honorable mention for its Class B prize bridge award in 1935. [7] [8]

On December 15, 1935, then-governor Frank Merriam dedicated the bridge, and led the inaugural parade across it. 1000 homing pigeons were released to carry the news throughout California. [4] The first train had crossed the bridge on November 7, 1935. [6] The Tower Bridge was the first vertical lift bridge in the California Highway System after it was formally accepted by the state on January 11, 1936. [6]

The final trains ran over the bridge in 1962, [9] and the railroad tracks were removed the following year. [6] With the removal of the tracks, the roadway was restriped for four automobile lanes. Due to the nearby railroad tracks, the grade crossing on the east side is designed to act as a secondary barrier to exclude vehicular traffic while the bridge is raised. When the warning siren sounds, the crossing activates to block traffic until the bridge is safe for use.

Repainting the bridge

For years, the bridge was painted with a silver aluminum paint under a special work order, [6] [8] but people[ who? ] complained about glare off the bridge. The concrete pylons were initially painted a sky-blue color. [6] In June 1976 as part of Bicentennial projects, it was painted a yellow-ochre color to match the gold leafed cupola on the nearby State Capitol. [6]

In 2001, as the old paint job could hardly be distinguished, residents who lived within 35 mi (56 km) of the capital voted on a new color scheme. Their choices were all-gold; green, gold and silver; or burgundy, silver and gold. [10] The winning choice was all gold, and it was repainted in 2002. However, that did not lessen the bridge's color controversy. Some people[ who? ] complained that the new paint was not as gilded as advertised. Others[ who? ] have suggested that copper would have been a far better color choice, especially in the context of nearby buildings. The new coat is expected to last 30 years. [11]

Reinstalling rail

As of 1963, the bridge is used for pedestrian and vehicle traffic only. By 2007, regional transportation agencies were considering the possibility of adding trolley traffic across the bridge.[ citation needed ] In 2020, these plans had changed to call for an extension of RT Light Rail to utilize the deck to provide service to West Sacramento.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Gate Bridge</span> San Francisco Bay suspension bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Wonders of the Modern World, the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge</span> Complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries about 260,000 vehicles a day on its two decks. It includes one of the longest bridge spans in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel Bridge</span> Bridge in Portland, Oregon

The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic, and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge. The bridge links the Rose Quarter and Lloyd District in the east to Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arroyo Seco Parkway</span> Highway in California

The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest freeways built in the United States. It connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being an early freeway, mostly opened in 1940, but for representing the transitional phase between early parkways and modern freeways. It conformed to modern standards when it was built, but is now regarded as a narrow, outdated roadway. A 1953 extension brought the south end to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles and a connection with the rest of the freeway system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 160</span> Highway in California

State Route 160 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California consisting of two sections. The longer, southern, section is a scenic highway through the alluvial plain of the Sacramento River, linking SR 4 in Antioch with Sacramento via the Antioch Bridge. The northern section, separated from the southern by Sacramento city streets, is the North Sacramento Freeway, running from the 16th Street Bridge over the American River to Interstate 80 Business towards Roseville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate Bridge</span> Highway bridge crossing the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington

The Interstate Bridge is a pair of nearly identical steel vertical-lift, Parker through-truss bridges that carry Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobin Bridge</span> Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, US

The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles (3.2 km) from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts. The bridge is the largest in New England. It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and carries U.S. Route 1. It was built between 1948 and 1950 and opened to traffic on February 2, 1950, replacing the former Chelsea Bridge. The 36-foot (11 m)-wide roadway has three lanes of traffic on each of the two levels with northbound traffic on the lower level and southbound traffic on the upper level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Bridge (Manhattan)</span> Bridge in Manhattan, New York

The Broadway Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge across the Harlem River Ship Canal in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It connects the neighborhoods of Inwood on Manhattan Island and Marble Hill on the mainland. The bridge consists of two decks. The lower deck carries Broadway, which is designated as U.S. Route 9 at this location. The upper deck carries the New York City Subway's IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, serving the 1 train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 275</span> Highway in California

State Route 275 is an unsigned state highway connecting West Sacramento, California and Downtown Sacramento. Since 1996, the highway has been legally defined to be the length of the Tower Bridge crossing the Sacramento River. Prior to that year, SR 275 was also known as the West Sacramento Freeway, and was a short spur connecting Interstate 80 Business / U.S. Route 50 in West Sacramento, and the Tower Bridge. SR 275 also extended east into Sacramento along the Capitol Mall from the bridge to 9th Street, just west of the California State Capitol. West Sacramento completed a project to replace the freeway with a pedestrian-friendly street named Tower Bridge Gateway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)</span> Road and railroad bridge in Louisiana, U.S.

The Huey P. Long Bridge, located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, is a cantilevered steel through-truss bridge that carries a two-track railroad line over the Mississippi River at mile 106.1, with three lanes of US 90 on each side of the central tracks. It is several kilometers upriver from the city of New Orleans. The East Bank entrance is at Elmwood, Louisiana, and the West Bank at Bridge City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niles Canyon Railway</span> Heritage railroad in California

The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District. The railroad is operated and maintained by the Pacific Locomotive Association which preserves, restores and operates historic railroad equipment. The NCRy features public excursions with both steam and diesel locomotives along a well-preserved portion of the first transcontinental railroad.

The Posey and Webster Street Tubes are two parallel underwater tunnels connecting the cities of Oakland and Alameda, California, running beneath the Oakland Estuary. Both are immersed tubes, constructed by sinking precast concrete segments to a trench in the Estuary floor, then sealing them together to create a tunnel. The Posey Tube, completed in 1928, currently carries one-way (Oakland-bound) traffic under the Estuary, while the Webster Street Tube, completed in 1963, carries traffic from Oakland to Alameda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinez station</span> Train station in Martinez, California, US

Martinez station is an Amtrak passenger train station in Martinez, California, United States. Located at the west end of downtown Martinez, the station has one side platform and one island platform, which serve three of the four tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision. It is served by the daily California Zephyr and Coast Starlight long-distance trains, five daily round trips of the San Joaquin corridor service, and fifteen daily round trips of the Capitol Corridor service. Martinez is also served by Amtrak Thruway buses plus County Connection, Tri-Delta Transit, and WestCAT local buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Mateo station</span> Train station in San Mateo, California, U.S.

San Mateo station is the northernmost of the three Caltrain stations in San Mateo, California. It is in downtown San Mateo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitol Mall</span> Major street in Sacramento, California

The Capitol Mall or Capitol Mall Boulevard is a major street and landscaped parkway in the state capital city of Sacramento, California. Formerly known as M Street, it connects the city of West Sacramento in Yolo County to Downtown Sacramento. Capitol Mall begins at the eastern approach to the Tower Bridge, and runs east to 10th Street and the California State Capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Street Bridge</span> Bridge in Sacramento, California

The I Street Bridge is a historic metal truss swing bridge which crosses the Sacramento River to link the capital city of Sacramento, California, with Yolo County to the west. Built in 1911, this historic bridge has a vertical clearance of 14 feet 8 inches (4.47 m) and was originally part of State Route 16. It also carries two walkways; one on either side of the roadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dock Bridge</span> United States historic place

Dock Bridge is a pair of vertical lift bridges crossing the Passaic River at Newark, Essex County and Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, used exclusively for railroad traffic. It is the seventh crossing from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 5.0 miles (8.0 km) upstream from it. Also known as the Amtrak Dock Vertical Lift, it carries Amtrak, NJ Transit, and PATH trains. It is listed on the state and federal registers of historic places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 136 in Iowa</span> Highway in Iowa

U.S. Highway 136 (US 136) is a short U.S. Highway in Keokuk, Iowa. The route was designated nationally in 1951 and has remained largely unchanged through Keokuk since then. The highway originally crossed the Mississippi on the Keokuk Rail Bridge, which was the second bridge built and operated by Andrew Carnegie's Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge Company in that location. While it was designed for wagons and early automobiles, crossing the rail bridge became difficult in larger modern vehicles, specifically semi trucks. As a result, a new automobile-only bridge was built directly to the south of the older span. The Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge opened in 1985 eight months early and under budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Vista Bridge</span> Bridge in California, U.S.

The Rio Vista Bridge is a continuous truss span with a vertical-lift bridge in the middle which carries California State Route 12 across the Sacramento River at Rio Vista, California. The present bridge was completed in 1960 and is one of several moveable bridges spanning rivers in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. It is named after Helen Madere, who served as vice-mayor of Rio Vista. As of 2013 the bridge carries approximately 21,000 cars per day.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "History of the Tower Bridge". Bridges over the Sacramento River. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  2. Tower Bridge at Structurae
  3. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Governor Merriam Opens $994,000 Tower Bridge at M Street, Sacramento" (PDF). California Highways and Public Works. California Department of Public Works. 14 (1): 2–3, 12–13. January 1936. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  5. Mikesell, Stephen D. (1990). Historic Highway Bridges of California. Sacramento, California: California Department of Transportation. OCLC   232919832 . Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fisher, James; Snyder, John W. Sacramento River Bridge (Tower Bridge; M Street Bridge), HAER No. CA-73 (PDF) (Report). National Park Service. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  7. American Institute of Steel Construction (1956). "Prize Bridges 1928–1956". AISC. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Walsh, Everett L. (July 1936). "Tower Bridge Wins National Award" (PDF). California Highways and Public Works. California Department of Public Works. 14 (7): 8–9, 27. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  9. Hecteman, Kevin W. (2009). Sacramento Southern Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. ISBN   9780738569864.
  10. Bailey, Eric (January 7, 2002). "No Golden Gate, Tower Bridge in Sacramento Still Wants to Shine". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  11. Warren, Jenifer (November 24, 2002). "Bridge's Paint Job Loses Its Sparkle". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2015.