Bethel Island Bridge Update

Flutterby

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"THE B I BRIDGE STARTS IN JUNE
Posted on: 2009-05-07
Construction on the long-awaited replacement for Bethel Island's aging bridge finally will start in a few weeks.

Bids on the approximately $12.2 million undertaking were opened this week, and whichever contractor the county chooses is scheduled to swing into action June 8.

Work on what will be a longer, wider, taller version of the 61-year-old bridge should be finished by late 2010, said project manager Neil Leary, a senior civil engineer with Contra Costa County's public works department.

Ensuring that the existing wooden structure meets Caltrans standards #65533; considerably more stringent than those in place when the bridge was built in 1948 #65533; has become more difficult in recent years, Leary said.

'We're getting all the life out of that bridge that was expected. It's definitely at the end of its lifespan,' he said.

The new Bethel Island Bridge will consist of durable steel and reinforced concrete.

Although it will remain a two-lane road, the structure will stretch 860 feet #65533; 400 feet longer than the existing one #65533; and range in width from 45 to 57 feet compared with the current measurement of just over 27 feet."

read more here:

http://www.bethelislandnews.com/index.php?pageId=410572
 
Any word on what the clearance under the new bridge will be?

Rod
 
I got this from the link I posted: "Instead of the bridge standing 14.8 feet above Dutch Slough at high tide, there will be a 19-foot drop to the water's surface."

So boaters will gain about 5 ft of vertical clearance.
 
It sure seems silly for them not to push the bottom up to 25 ft or so. That would allow most power boats to get under there. At 18' I'd have to be guaranteed dead flat water to risk it. I'm 17'6" high with my antennas down.
 
The pics that I took of the bridge during opening day will probably be the last ones for me. They will soon be part of Delta history.

I just drove over it yesterday a few times.

Those metal plates in the road are a nuisance...
 
Well, Dave, I don't understand 'cause the Coast Guard determined the clearance for boats. Maybe at low tide you could manage to get under.
 
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