New West Sacramento bridge may cut I-80 traffic. Could it be like Tower Bridge?
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- West Sacramento plans new bridge to ease Interstate 80 traffic.
- The bridge design options offer different levels of port access for large vessels.
- A fixed bridge risks cargo limits and longshore job losses at West Sacramento port.
As West Sacramento elected officials contemplate a new bridge, two competing tensions have struck in its planning.
The West Sacramento City Council approved in March 2024 a plan to study the Enterprise Bridge project, which connects the Southport Industrial Park to Interstate 80. The concept has been deemed necessary since 1990 to accommodate the city’s growing population.
Officials will consider three designs: a low fixed bridge, a low movable bridge and a high fixed bridge.
A fixed bridge — which cannot raise its middle section to accommodate large ships — could prohibit barges from docking at the Port of West Sacramento. If enough ships are blocked from the port, longshoremen will have no work and could lose their jobs, curtailing West Sacramento’s ability to export rice to Vietnam and Japan and import cement.
Other bridge designs that allow passage for ocean barges, however, feature a hefty price tag.
Now, elected officials must consider managing growth while contemplating how West Sacramento’s port and its 50 longshoreman can thrive if a fixed bridge is selected. The Yolo Local Agency Formation Commission, a body of elected officials from cities and the Board of Supervisors, discussed this tension Thursday while reviewing a report outlining these concerns.
“We could possibly downsize,” said Rick Toft, the general manager for the Port of West Sacramento. That adjustment would impact the economic viability of moving cargo, he said.
The Enterprise Bridge is estimated to reduce traffic congestion by redirecting 10,000 cars daily, according to a March 2024 city news release. Pedestrians and cyclists could also face improved road conditions, the release said.
The new construction could span from West Sacramento’s Southport Industrial Park, arching over the Sacramento Deep Water Shipping Channel, en route to Enterprise Boulevard, according to the city.
A low fixed bridge is the least expensive option and costs about $125 million. But costs rise to about $550 million for a movable bridge, similar to Tower Bridge, Toft said.
Out of California’s 12 ports, the Port of West Sacramento ranks among the bottom in terms of total hauled cargo. The area was responsible for 1.2 million tons of cargo in 2020, while the Port of Long Beach transported 79 million tons, according to a staff report.
There are also structural issues with the port, because it has a shallow channel that stops barges from docking, said Christine Crawford, LAFCO’s executive director. Efforts to deepen the channel accumulated high price tags and eventually were abandoned, she said.
“The status of the channel is pretty static,” she said.
The city of West Sacramento is collecting data, drafting an engineering feasibility analysis and pinpointing costs and grants. The City Council could hear a presentation about these findings by the end of 2026 to mid-2027, said Paul Hosley, a city spokesperson.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM.
