Sacramento County's nearly 100-year-old New Hope Bridge set for demolition

Friday is demolition day for a southern Sacramento County bridge that's nearly 100 years old. Engineers say the list of problems on the New Hope Bridge is so long that it's easier to tear it down and build a new one.

The bridge has seen better days. There are defects nearly everywhere you look, with cracks in the support columns, guardrails that are bent and broken down to bare metal, and pieces of concrete that have chipped off and fallen to the ground.

"Bridge inspectors came by, took a look at it and told the county that the bridge had to close," said Matt Robinson, with the Sacramento County Transportation Department.

Sacramento County owns the bridge, which crosses Grizzly Slough near Walnut Grove.

"We've been putting a lot of money into the maintenance of this bridge over the decades, and at some point, we just realized the best thing to do was to tear it down," Robinson said.

The two-lane span was originally built in 1931, back when cars were a lot different.

"Vehicles weren't as heavy as they are now. We have trucks going across them, people in their larger SUVs, so after a while, the bridge starts to see a lot of wear and tear," Robinson said.

Today, an average of 2,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day. Road closed signs are now in place, warning drivers that it will be shut down beginning on Friday.

"We will have a detour for residents to take so they can avoid the construction," Robinson said.

This crossing is not the only bridge in the Sacramento region with safety concerns.

A report issued last fall by the transportation organization Trip found there are 55 bridges in the region that are structurally deficient.

"It means the engineers have said there's significant deterioration here it needs to be repaired," said Rocky Moretti, with the National Transportation Research Group.

The county is spending nearly $5 million to build a new bridge in the same spot, and it will include a new bike-friendly feature.

"What we're going to do is make it a little wider so that way we can start to put in class 3 bike lanes in the future," Robinson said.

A majority of the funding is coming from the federal highway bridge program. Construction is scheduled to last through november.