Over the past 10 months the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento have been immersed in the environmental review process and have made substantial progress on the required environmental technical studies for the I Street Bridge Replacement Project, a new multimodal bridge across the Sacramento River.
This new multimodal bridge will be located upstream from the existing historic I Street Bridge and will provide enhanced motor vehicle, transit, bicycle and pedestrian travel between the cities.
Once the new bridge is in place, the top deck of the I Street bridge will be closed to motorists. The existing I Street Bridge is owned and operated by Union Pacific Railroad and will remain in place to continue serving train traffic.
The project’s technical studies identify and provide an analysis of potential environmental impacts such as noise, biology and cultural resources, as well as any hazardous materials within the defined project area.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Caltrans have noted that on average it takes approximately 6 years to complete the environmental process for a bridge project. The project remains on schedule with an anticipated completion of the draft EIR expected in fall of 2016.
The new structure will be a movable bridge similar to the existing I Street Bridge and the Tower Bridge in order to be consistent with the Coast Guard requirements. The project team is also evaluating alternatives for how the bridge lands on each side of the river.
The goal is to make the connections as efficient as possible for bikes and pedestrians, minimizing traffic congestion during peak travel times, and minimizing impact to the neighborhoods.
To receive project updates, please visit the project website.
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