Tower Bridge over Sacramento River is broken; unclear when it will be fully operational
The primary motor is broken on the Tower Bridge between Sacramento and West Sacramento, and Caltrans says it’s unclear when repairs can be made.
The bridge is in the down position, and it’s structurally safe for vehicles to continue to cross the bridge, said Dennis Keaton, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation. It’s the traffic on the Sacramento River - riverboats, sailboats and other tall ships - that will have difficulty crossing under the bridge.
Keaton said the bridge’s secondary motor is operational, but Caltrans officials want to use it sparingly and avoid a malfunction to the motor while it’s in the up position.
“We don’t want that to go out or else it could be stuck,” Keaton told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday.
In May, the bridge’s elevated section was stuck for several hours during morning rush hour traffic for a “motor malfunction,” Caltrans had said.
Keaton said boats wishing to cross under the lifted bridge will have to make a request four hours in advance. Other than that, he said the bridge will only be lifted for emergency purposes.
The electrical supply to the primary motor, which was set to be replaced this summer, went out Friday. Keaton said the malfunctioning motor has nothing to do with a widespread power outage last week after an electrical substation burst into flames in downtown Sacramento.
Keaton said engineers are assessing the problem and determining whether repairs to the motor’s electrical system will get the bridge fully operational soon. He said they could decide the motor needs to be replaced.
Drivers using the bridge shouldn’t anticipate any delays, Keaton said, but they also can use the I Street Bridge or the Pioneer Memorial Bridge to get across the river.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
