Soda Springs Road Over South Yuba River Bridge Replacement Project

Location

Soda Springs Road

City or County Responsible for Project

Nevada County

Author

Patrick Perkins

Organization

Nevada County

Address

950 Maidu Ave suite 170 P.O. Box 559002 Nevada City, CA 95959-7902

Phone

5302651712

Project Description

In 2021 Nevada County completed the replacement bridge over the South Yuba River on Soda Springs Road. The previously constructed bridge was built in 1965 and was determined by Caltrans to be structurally deficient due to the deteriorating deck condition. The previous bridge also did not meet current hydraulic requirements and subsequently had flood conditions in 2016. The existing bridge serves an annual average daily traffic of 1,000 vehicles per day and serves as single access to the Serene Lakes subdivision and the Soda Springs Ski Resort.

In order to provide a bridge that would be cost effective and sustainable, the County studied design alternatives and determined that a single span, post tensioned slab bridge was the best fit for this project. This bridge achieved the goals of providing a bridge with sidewalks to accommodate pedestrians traffic, structural/seismic upgrades to meet current standards, and provided the needed hydraulic requirements. Unique to this project was the short timeframe that the project could be constructed due to the 6,500 foot elevation. This issue was further compounded by a large storm in October that accumulated three feet of snow on the project site. Despite the conditions, this $1,561,314 project was constructed in five months’ time and included a diversion of the South Yuba River, the removal of the old bridge, and construction of a new bridge along with the corresponding approaches. In order to maintain the single point of access to the Serene Lakes subdivision during construction, a temporary paved detour road was placed on top of the river bypass culverts prior to removal of the old bridge.

In regard to utilities, this project included the coordination with AT&T to raise existing overhead telecommunication lines to meet CPUC height standards over the roadway, coordination with Serene Lakes Water District and Donners Summit PUD for the raising of existing sewer manholes to meet the new profile, and coordination with PG&E for placement of a drainage inlet next to a large dual pole electrical transmission line.

This project was constructed at only 1% over the initial bid price and well within the contingency of the budget. Through the construction process the County was able to eliminate inefficiencies within the project and keep the amount of change orders minimal. Prior to the start of construction, the County, the contractor, and the CM team had a partnering meeting to discuss expectations of everyone involved. This communication was done throughout the project and was mutually beneficial for the contractor and the county to help to identify potential issues so that they could be addressed early in the project. This project was completed in late November of 2021 and has vastly improved the conditions for the residents living within the community. For more information on the project see the following link: http://dokkenbridges.com/nevada-county/soda-springs-road-bridge.html