Kelseyville >> After nearly five months of construction and multiple delays, the Cole Creek Bridge on Soda Bay Road finally reopened yesterday at noon.
The road is one of the most highly trafficked in the county, and the bridge replacement project sent hundreds of cars through a detour on Clark Drive daily. With the increase in vehicles, the narrow, winding road has been facing its own problems, requiring numerous repairs to pot holes.
In addition to frustration over a longer commute time, many travelers were growing nervous as the project continued and the rains drew near. Clark Drive has a history of flooding in the winter, and many were worried if the bridge remained closed, they would have to drive out through the Clearlake Riviera and around to get into Lakeport, a significant commute.
Drivers weren’t the only ones antsy to see the bridge reopened. “The notion of the folks having to use Clark Drive for the rest of the winter really wasn’t acceptable,” said Lake County Director of Public Works, Scott DeLeon.
Although the Cole Creek Bridge reopened to traffic, the project is still not entirely complete. Due to the wet weather, the installation of the approach guard rails at all four corners of the bridge was put on hold. The contractor used k-rails in the interim, instead of putting off the bridge reopening. “If we waited for the weather I don’t know when we’d be able to open the bridge,” DeLeon explained. “We really needed to get the traffic back onto Soda Bay Road and off of Clark Drive.”
Once the weather clears, travelers will experience some delays as crews complete the guard rails.
The bridge replacement began in July and was originally scheduled for completion in October. But crews from SF Shea Construction, a company out of Redding, came up against issues during both the design phase and construction.
“This project has had a history of delays,” DeLeon said.
The biggest issue came when soil didn’t respond as expected. The steel supporting piling of the bridge didn’t meet the required load rating, a measure to evaluate live load capacity. A consulting engineer had to alter the design and new materials had to be ordered.
They also needed to reevaluate the initial $1.2 million budget. The figure has not yet been updated, as the contractor continues to put together the change order for additional materials and geotechnical work.
Crews first pushed back their completion estimate to the end of November. When the date came and went, they tentatively hoped for the week of December 14. Though waiting for the grout to cure, the paving of the bridge and final inspections took them past that date, travelers can now drive straight over Cole Creek Bridge for the first time since July.
It’s a relief for everyone involved. “I’m happy to get all of the motorists off of Clark Drive. I’m sure they’re happy, I’m sure the residents of Clark Drive are happy,” DeLeon said. “It does feel good to get everybody back onto Soda Bay Road.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
