Rio Vista Bridge

The Helen Madere Memorial Bridge, commonly called by its former name, the Rio Vista Bridge after its location, is a vertical-lift bridge which carries California State Route 12 across the Sacramento River at Rio Vista, California. The present bridge was completed in 1960 and is one of several moveable bridges spanning rivers in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. the bridge carries approximately 21,000 cars per day.1919 bascule bridgeThe original bridge spanning the Sacramento River was built in 1918 and opened in January 1919 at a cost of. From west to east, the 1919 bridge consisted of a 70ft concrete tied arch, the 343ft Strauss double-leaf bascule, three 120ft concrete tied arches and 1670ft timber A-frame trestle spans.1960 tower bridgeThe 1919 bridge was replaced during seventeen years of piecewise construction. The finished 1943–1960 bridge consists of thirteen steel Warren truss spans (with one of those being the 306ft vertical-lift chorded Warren truss main span) carried on twelve piers. Total bridge length is 2890ft, including 441ft of concrete slab approach spans on the west end of the bridge. Upon completion, the Rio Vista bridge won an American Institute of Steel Construction class IV (movable bridges) prize bridge award in 1960.