Work to begin on Folsom span
Bridge near dam will ease congested commutes in city.
By Tony Bizjak and Cathy Locke - Bee Staff Writers
Last Updated 8:39 am PST Thursday, February 22, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
For Folsom's beleaguered commuters, there's finally a concrete reason for hope.
Today, federal and local officials, including Reps. John Doolittle and Dan Lungren, will break ground on a hillside near Folsom Dam, starting construction on a new $117 million bridge.
For residents and commuters, the four-lane bridge and a new, 2-mile connector road can't come too soon. Folsom, a commute crossroads between El Dorado and Placer counties, has suffered some of the region's worst "cut through" traffic congestion on its residential streets for three years.
The trigger was a federal decision in 2003 to close the road atop Folsom Dam for safety reasons, following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Federal officials determined that public vehicles on the dam made it vulnerable to terrorist attack. The new bridge, which is more than 100 yards from the dam, won federal support and financing as the alternative route.
Although work on the bridge is not expected to begin for several weeks, the project already is being hailed as a unique accomplishment in the typically slow-moving world of road building.
"This moved along with the speed of light," Mayor Andy Morin said. "It's amazing to think that in a year and a half, and maybe a few months, we'll be cutting a ribbon."
The project has moved so fast that they haven't named the bridge yet.
"We're just calling it the new Folsom bridge for now," city spokeswoman Sue Ryan said. "Maybe by the time we finish we'll have one."
Closure of Folsom Dam road rerouted an estimated 18,000 vehicles a day to three nearby spans -- Rainbow Bridge, Lake Natoma Crossing and the Hazel Avenue bridge.
It also provided disquieting evidence in the growing foothills of the thin edge separating regularly flowing traffic and gridlock.
Some commuters reported half-hour increases in daily drives to work, and a survey last year found Folsom residents considered closure-induced congestion the worst problem in town.
Builders with the Army Corps of Engineers say they hope to open the new bridge by December 2008.
"The pressure's on," said Creg Hucks, Army Corps project manager. "That's an aggressive schedule."
The 1,000-foot span -- described architecturally as clean and functional -- will stand 200 feet above the American River, will carry four car lanes, and will include bicycle lanes and a pedestrian walkway.
It will connect Folsom-Auburn Road on the west with East Natoma Street on the east.
If workers meet the 2008 finish date, Hucks said, the bridge will have been built just five years after it was conceived.
By comparison, nearby Lake Natoma Crossing, built in 1999, took a more typical 10 years from conception to completion.
"There was much more of an environmental impact with Lake Natoma," Mayor Morin said. Unlike the new bridge, which will run through a remote government-owned area, the Lake Natoma bridge neighbors a residential area and the city's historic district.
For the new Folsom bridge, City Council members traveled to Washington, D.C., at least three times a year for several years to lobby for federal support and money, Morin said.
Most of the estimated $117 million cost will be funded by the federal government, but the city of Folsom and the state kicked in $28 million for the project, including funds from Measure A, the state Department of Water Resources and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.
Morin said there should be relatively few traffic disruptions during construction because the project does not involve major work on existing roads.
El Dorado Hills resident Louie Kiser said he's amazed at the project's speed.
Kiser used to travel on Folsom Dam Road to his job in Auburn. The road closure added 10 to 15 minutes to his afternoon drive, even though he commutes at off-peak hours.
Kiser , 59, figured he'd be retired by the time the new bridge was built. Now, he says, "I'll have to hang on a little longer to commute over the new bridge."
Business owners in Folsom have lamented the closure of the old, dam-top road. Commuters streamed through town, clogging residential and commercial streets, and causing some shoppers to stay away from Folsom businesses.
Dan Friedman has owned Folsom Dam Auto Repair on Folsom-Auburn Road for 12 years.
"It's been a huge imposition to people in this area and the east end of Folsom and El Dorado Hills," he said.
Friedman said he's not sure his repair shop will be around to reap the benefits of the new bridge. He estimated his business has dropped more than 40 percent since the old road closed. Customers from El Dorado Hills told him they weren't willing to fight heavy traffic on Highway 50 and Folsom-Auburn Road to reach his business once they lost the relatively convenient dam road.
He faces the same challenge, Friedman said. A round trip to purchase auto parts at Folsom businesses near Highway 50 can take two hours in the middle of the afternoon, he said.
He worries about inconvenience during construction but crosses his fingers for the end product.
"I'm hoping the bridge will make life a lot easier for many people in El Dorado Hills," he said.
Construction is expected to start in a few weeks on a
new bridge over the American River, shown here
in a photo-simulated rendering, to replace
Folsom Dam Road, which was closed to the
public in 2003.
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The government already let ugly ass tract homes cover the once-beautiful golden hill when there is so much room for infill, I'm sure the 4th bore will be fine in comparison. How is it that the older developments in Moraga, Orinda, and those areas still look pretty (lots of natural vegetation, roads follow the contours of the hills, etc.), but the new stuff was just 'painted on'?
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