Lakeport >> If all goes as planned the Cole Creek Bridge Replacement Project on Soda Bay Road will be completed late November.
“This project has been as frustrating for us as it has been for citizens having to use that bypass,” Lake County Director of Public Works Scott DeLeon said.
Issues with steel support piling caused a major delay in the project that began this summer. The piling for the bridge did not achieve the required load rating, a measure that evaluates live load capacity, forcing work to halt.
A consulting engineer for the county had to be brought in to do geotechnical work and design an alternative using different material for the piling before work could continue.
In the meantime, the construction crew from Redding-based JF Shea focused on completing work in the stream bed by Oct. 15, sometimes putting in 12-hour days up to six days a week in order to meet the environmental permit deadline.
“Getting out of creek was a huge milestone with respect to weather,” DeLeon said. The completed job will allow the construction crew to continue work even with potential rain storms ahead. As long as there periods of dry or relatively dry weather, construction should proceed as planned.
“Once pilings were in the ground, were able to get foundations and stem walls poured,” he said.
Concrete then has to cure before any loads can be put on those walls, a processes that takes several days, DeLeon said. The following step comes next week when the contractor will begin placing precast girders, a type of prestressed concrete beam that facilitates fast construction, according to the California Department of Transportation.
Residents will still have to take the detour on Clark Drive, which DeLeon said will get its own revamp next summer to “mitigate the affects of additional traffic,” with funds already set aside.
Soda Bay Road is one of the most traveled roads in Lake County, and the detour onto the back country road has meant the county has had to do more repairs to fill in pot holes.
“I can’t wait to finish and get travels back to normal,” DeLeon said. “Just be patient for a little while longer.”
