The Meiss Road Bridge is available at no cost for adaptive use in accordance with Guidelines for Historic Bridge Rehabilitation and Replacement. Potential recipients must demonstrate ability to assume legal and financial responsibility for the bridge, including holding the Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SACDOT) harmless of any liability.
The Meiss Road Bridge at the Cosumnes River, originally constructed circa 1894, is a 217 foot long Pennsylvania truss bridge. It is the oldest steel throughtruss bridge in the County and has been deemed eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It was closed in the 1960's after completion of the construction of Dillard Road (Meiss Road to Jackson Highway). The bridge was kept in service as a pedestrian/bicycle facility from 1964 to January 1991 when vandalism (fire) destroyed about half of the deck, rendering the bridge unusable for pedestrians and bicyclists.
In January 1997, the Cosumnes River experienced a 200 year flood event. It appeared that the high water produced by this flood caused additional damage to the bridge. Several rods and floorbeams that compose part of the bottom lateral system of the truss were damaged. The substructure of the bridge also experienced damage during the flood. Scour around the south bridge cassions produced a 10-15 foot deep hole. This scour may have contributed to the failure of the levee that served as the south bridge approach.
In October 1997, the Department of Transportation entered into an agreement with the engineering consulting firm of CH2M Hill to prepare a evaluation and feasibility study of the bridge. The feasibility study estimated the cost to reconstruct the bridge to current vehicle loading and seismic standards at over $2,000,000. Efforts were made by the County to secure federal funding to reconstruct the bridge in another location without success. CH2M Hill was retained by the Department of Transportation to prepare plans, specifications and estimate for the Meiss Road Bridge removal and storage.
On October 10, 2000, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors awarded a construction contract to Yubacon, Inc. of Diamond Springs with the low bid of $412,000. The contract removed, disassembled and transported the bridge to a County facility for storage (Mather Airport). The Contractor elected to install a temporary bridge in the interior of the existing bridge truss and use the temporary bridge as support for the disassembly of the members. Prior to disassembly, each piece of the bridge was marked and photos were taken at each joint for future reassembly. Construction was completed by the end of June 2001.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Interested parties should contact:
Ron Vicari, Principal Engineer
Phone: 916-874-6291
Email: vicarir@saccounty.net
