Board Clears way for bridge
Replacement of the 50 year-old Bethel Island Bridge could start next fall with the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors decision. 64 parcels of land will affected by the $18.3 million project.
The new concrete bridge will be almost twice as long as the 458-foot-long structure with wooden supports that now carries traffic on and off the island. Its new lenght meets Coast Guard requirements for waterway clearance and will have a flatter profile, making oncoming traffic easier to see.
The new bridge also will include two overlooks, a 5 foot wide sidewalk-on both sides and decorative lights. It will shift east of the existing structure and be 50 feet 22 feet wider than the current bridge.
During the two years that work is scheduled to take to complete, two lanes of traffic will remain open although the location of those lanes will shift as work proceeds.
The new bridge alignment leads to a need to a need to build a new road to the south levee and rebuild a portion of four other roads, Wells Road, Riverview Dr. South Levee Access Road and Bethel Island Road.
Replacement of the 50 year-old Bethel Island Bridge could start next fall with the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors decision. 64 parcels of land will affected by the $18.3 million project.
The new concrete bridge will be almost twice as long as the 458-foot-long structure with wooden supports that now carries traffic on and off the island. Its new lenght meets Coast Guard requirements for waterway clearance and will have a flatter profile, making oncoming traffic easier to see.
The new bridge also will include two overlooks, a 5 foot wide sidewalk-on both sides and decorative lights. It will shift east of the existing structure and be 50 feet 22 feet wider than the current bridge.
During the two years that work is scheduled to take to complete, two lanes of traffic will remain open although the location of those lanes will shift as work proceeds.
The new bridge alignment leads to a need to a need to build a new road to the south levee and rebuild a portion of four other roads, Wells Road, Riverview Dr. South Levee Access Road and Bethel Island Road.