BETHEL ISLAND NEW BRIDGE UPDATE Ending MARCH 12, 2010
I have been meeting with the Bethel Island Bridge project consultants as well as the County and C.C. Meyers regarding the Traffic and Safety issues for some time. This traffic control plan is the Safest and Least Obtrusive to island traffic. I know every issue was considered before reaching this decision and it simply came down to safety for everyone concerned. Below is a complete description from Steve Castaldo, the Hill International Consultant. Thank you, Mark A. Whitlock Sr. ================================================= From: Steve Castaldo Hill International Consultant Beginning in about a month, vehicles using the Bethel Island bridge will be reduced to one total lane. This is due to construction work for the second stage construction. The first stage is to provide one lane on the new bridge. The original plan was to have one lane on the existing and one lane on the new bridges. However, during the course of last years' construction, one pile that was extracted from the existing bridge had considerable rot putting into question the remaining piles. We used our best safety and engineering judgment and decided that the existing piles are considered poor quality. In order to perform the work for stage 2, a sliver of the existing bridge will need to be removed which includes the east side battered piles. The County, for safety reasons, has made the decision to close the existing bridge to public vehicles when this sliver is removed. Therefore, we apologize in advance for any inconvenience that the one lane reduction will cause, however, we have to place your safety above all else. We anticipate that the duration of the single lane to be approximately 10 weeks. During this time, the Contractor will use an unmanned traffic control system 24 hours per day 7 days per week located at Riverview/Bethel Island and the crest of the new bridge. The signals will resemble standard traffic signal heads and use optical sensors to know when cars are present. They will also have a pre-emption capability to provide green lights for emergency vehicles. Thank you in advance for your understanding. If you have any questions, please contact: Mark Whitlock, Sr. makebethelislandsafe@yahoo.com (925) 684-2125 |
