The Tower Bridge is a vertical lift bridge across the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...

, linking West Sacramento in Yolo County to the west, with the capital of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, in

Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacrament ...

to the east. It has also been known as M Street Bridge. It was previously a part of U.S. Route 40 until that highway was truncated to east of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

as well as US Route 99W, which served the western portion of the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Red Bluff. The bridge is maintained by the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

as part of State Route 275 and connects West Capitol Avenue and Cabaldon Parkway (formerly Tower Bridge Gateway) in West Sacramento with the Capitol Mall in Sacramento. In 1982, the Tower Bridge was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

Developing the bridge

The Tower Bridge replaced the 1911 M Street Bridge in Sacramento, which was originally a swing through-truss railroad bridge. Later, roadway sections were added as cantilevered sections on both sides of the existing rail bridge. Sacramento's population more than doubled between 1910 and 1935, rendering the existing bridge inadequate. In 1933, the city realized that it needed a better crossing over the Sacramento River in case of war. On December 22, 1933, the

State of California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and the

Sacramento Northern Railway The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico, California, Chico in northern California with Oakland, California, Oakland via the state capital, Sacramento, California, Sacramento. In ...

held a conference to plan the new bridge, with an agreement reached on March 8, 1934. Under the terms of the agreement, Sacramento Northern Railway relinquished its rights to the 1911 M Street Bridge in return for the rights to rail traffic over the new bridge until March 21, 1960, which was the original expiration date of its franchise to operate rail traffic over the 1911 bridge. Construction commenced on July 20, 1934. Road traffic was diverted to the I Street Bridge, and rail traffic was diverted to a temporary timber-and-steel "shoofly" bridge approximately of the existing M Street Bridge.

Design

Tower Bridge was initially designed with a wide roadway with sidewalks, with single lanes for cars flanking a large center lane for trains. The towers are . From east to west, the bridge consists of a long girder span, a long eastern truss approach span, the long central lift span, a long western approach span and four long girder spans. With the draw up, there is of vertical clearance above high water with a wide navigation channel between the timber pier fenders. Although the lift span weighs , the use of an equal amount of counterweights (located in each tower) means the span is operated with two relatively small electric motors. The bridge style represents a rare use of

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

architectural styling in a lift bridge, making it an outstanding expression of the social and architectural climate of the period of construction. The lift span towers were sheathed in steel to streamline its appearance. The American Institute of Steel Construction gave the Tower Bridge an honorable mention for its Class B prize bridge award in 1935. On December 15, 1935, then-governor Frank Merriam dedicated the bridge, and led the inaugural parade across it. 1000 homing pigeons were released to carry the news throughout California. The first train had crossed the bridge on November 7, 1935. The Tower Bridge was the first vertical lift bridge in the California Highway System after it was formally accepted by the state on January 11, 1936. The final trains ran over the bridge in 1962, and the railroad tracks were removed the following year. With the removal of the tracks, the roadway was restriped for four automobile lanes. Due to the nearby railroad tracks, the grade crossing on the east side is designed to act as a secondary barrier to exclude vehicular traffic while the bridge is raised. When the warning siren sounds, the crossing activates to block traffic until the bridge is safe for use.

Repainting the bridge

For years, the bridge was painted with a silver aluminum paint under a special work order, but people complained about glare off the bridge. The concrete pylons were initially painted a sky-blue color. In June 1976 as part of Bicentennial projects, it was painted a yellow-ochre color to match the gold leafed cupola on the nearby State Capitol. In 2001, as the old paint job could hardly be distinguished, residents who lived within of the capital voted on a new color scheme. Their choices were all-gold; green, gold and silver; or burgundy, silver and gold. The winning choice was all gold, and it was repainted in 2002. However, that did not lessen the bridge's color controversy. Some people complained that the new paint was not as gilded as advertised. Others have suggested that copper would have been a far better color choice, especially in the context of nearby buildings. The new coat is expected to last 30 years.

Reinstalling rail

, the bridge is used for pedestrian and vehicle traffic only. By 2007, regional transportation agencies were considering the possibility of adding trolley traffic across the bridge. In 2020, these plans had changed to call for an extension of SacRT light rail to utilize the deck to provide service to West Sacramento.

References

External links

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History of Tower Bridge photo essay
* * * {{National Register of Historic Places in California Bridges over the Sacramento River Bridges in Sacramento County, California Bridges in Yolo County, California Buildings and structures in Sacramento, California Vertical lift bridges in California Transportation in Sacramento, California Steel bridges in the United States Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System U.S. Route 40 Bridges completed in 1935 1935 establishments in California Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Sacramento, California Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in California Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in California Historic American Engineering Record in California Streamline Moderne architecture in California Sacramento Northern Railway