Plans for a new bridge over the American River in Sacramento gain momentum

Already 10 years in the making, plans for a new bridge crossing the American River in Sacramento have taken a necessary step.

The city of Sacramento has hired Dokken Engineering, an infrastructure and bridge engineering firm, to analyze the size and location of a planned bridge across the river connecting Truxel Road in South Natomas with the River District. The bridge would likely accommodate vehicles, light rail trains, pedestrians and cyclists while creating a link for walkers and bike riders to the American River Parkway.

City officials said the bridge would establish a vital connection between neighborhoods north of the American River and the employment and entertainment centers of the central city. It would also allow many commuters and emergency vehicles to cross the river without having to travel on Interstate 5.

“We need better connections between North and South Natomas and the central city, we need better connections to the American River Parkway,” said Sparky Harris, a principal planner with the city. “From a circulation point of view, a large portion of the city north of the river can’t get to the rest of the city without using a state facility (Interstate 5), which is really for interstate commerce.

“From a circulation standpoint, that doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Environmentalists and advocates of the American River Parkway are concerned a new bridge will decimate a large plot of land in the already fragile natural jewel.

“If they go ahead with four lanes of (vehicle) traffic, it will take away five acres of prime habitat in the Parkway,” said Stephen Green, president of the Save the American River Association.

The bridge would extend Truxel Road past Garden Highway and into the American River Parkway. Green said that section of the Parkway is a habitat for oak and willow trees, as well as the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, listed as a federally threatened species.

The Sacramento City Council last month approved a $558,668 contract with Dokken to come up with a conceptual plan for the bridge. That will include the bridge’s size, whether light rail trains will have the right of way or mix with car traffic, and how bike and pedestrian lanes mix with other modes of transportation. Dokken will also conduct a “very high-level environmental evaluation” and recommend a financing plan for a project that will likely cost “a couple hundred million dollars,” Harris said.

Construction of the bridge is still years away. But Dokken’s evaluation will help the city find and receive key federal funding, Harris said.

The bridge would likely connect to Sequoia Pacific Boulevard north of Richards Boulevard on the south side of the river. Sacramento Regional Transit officials intend to run light rail trains over the bridge to help jump-start the long-stalled plan to extend the light rail system into Natomas and to Sacramento International Airport.

This story was originally published July 20, 2023 at 10:31 AM.