Why are there cranes under the Capital City Freeway at the American River in Sacramento?

As you cruise down the Capital City Freeway, near Cal Expo, you might wonder why tall cranes are sticking out from the American River.

You’re not the only one. A handful of readers reached out to Bee Curious, asking about what’s going on.

“What construction is going on near Cal Expo at the American River?,” one reader asked.

“Those two cranes popping up from the ground as you approach or pass Cal Expo? What are they up or down to?,” another wrote.

As a part of “Bee Curious: What is That Thing?”, a mini-series in our community-driven project, The Sacramento Bee talked to the California Department of Transportation and an executive associated with the project to find the answer.

What’s going on at the Capital City Freeway?

Restoration is underway for part of the Capital City Freeway, or Business 80.

The cranes peaking over the freeway are a part of a project called SAC-51 American River Bridge Deck Replacement, which involves removing and replacing the current concrete deck, said Angela Daprato, a public information officer with the Caltrans.

More specifically, it’s replacing the stretch from approximately Sutter’s Landing Regional Park to Exposition Boulevard.

The deck is the concrete surface cars drive when on the bridge, said George Delano, the project executive for Granite Construction, Inc. Granite, the company awarded the project.

“The bridge was built in the early 50s, widened in the 70s, and the deck is deteriorating and needs to be replaced in order to maintain traffic,” Delano said.

Once the project is finished, the bridge will have wider shoulders and a bike lane behind a barrier on the upstream side of the bridge, he said. They will be widening the bridge to keep traffic flowing during construction, but by the end of the project there will still be three traffic lanes.

Daprato emphasized that this isn’t a bridge widening project, but rather a replacement project.

So what exactly are are the cranes “up or down to?” They’re being used for pile driving for the foundation of the bridge.

“They have been moving debris and cleaning the area,” Daprato said in an email to The Bee.

Crews are currently working under the bridge.

How much money does this project cost?

The exact price of the project has not been determined yet.

An early estimate of the total project cost, as of September, is $183.5 million, Daprato said. So far, the project has received almost $37.5 million, as a part of the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, which increases transportation funding.

How long will construction take?

The project is currently in the “pre-construction” phase.

This entails the contractor reviewing the constructability of the site, assessing engineer reviews, making construction estimates and other recommendations, Daprato said. She added that construction on the bridge deck is anticipated to begin in 2023, which, at that time, there will be lane closures on the Capital City Freeway.

The multi-phase project is expected to be complete in 2025.

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This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.