Drivers, beware. Gawkers, too. Sacramento County bridge builders hope to pull off a dramatic, C.C. Myers-style construction coup on busy Watt Avenue this weekend.
They will fully close South Watt from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, just south of Folsom Boulevard, so crews can lift dozens of prefabricated bridge girders and concrete slabs over the street.
By the time commuters return Monday morning, drivers on Watt will pass under a 529-foot light-rail bridge.
"It's going to be pretty crazy," county project manager Ron Vicari said of the weekend. "Hopefully, it'll go quickly and motorists won't be too inconvenienced."
Prep work tonight and Thursday will require lane restrictions on Watt between Folsom and Manlove Road from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The work, headed by Viking Construction of Rancho Cordova, will be followed by more night lane restrictions next week.
County officials say they hope to have the $23 million bridge ready for use by November. It will vault light-rail tracks over one of the busiest intersections in the county and help commuters, who for years endured long waits as trains chugged across the road.
Construction has worked around traffic since April.
Tonight, however, a crucial nine-day period starts and drivers will be asked to move aside.
It's a similar approach on a smaller scale to Caltrans' and contractor C.C. Myers' recent closure of Interstate 5 in downtown Sacramento for repairs.
"We're really excited, frankly," county transportation chief Mike Penrose said. "We're hoping to see a big change visually."
Construction work will be choreographed down to 15-minute periods, project manager Vicari said.
The bridge's single biggest element, an oversized 263,000-pound, 114-foot-long girder will be trucked with police escort from the Stockton area.
The upcoming work, if successful, would represent a major turnaround for what was a snake-bit project.
County officials shut it down last year and parted ways with the previous contractor amid rising costs and disagreements. Borrowing funds from other transportation projects, the county hired Viking, called in Regional Transit for expert track advice and relaunched in April.
Since then, the project has held to its budget and schedule, Penrose said.
The bridge will be similar to a light-rail overpass at Sunrise Boulevard.
County officials say they hope to build a similar light-rail bridge over Bradshaw Road near Folsom Boulevard, but that project is likely years away.
Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.
