Clear Creek Road Bridges

El Dorado County has an inventory of 79 bridges. Twenty-five of these bridges are in the Community Development Agency Transportation Division’s 2013 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Two of the CIP bridge projects are crossings over Clear Creek. One bridge is located on Clear Creek Road (PM 1.82) at Clear Creek and the other is on Clear Creek Road (PM 0.25) at Clear Creek Road. Planning is currently underway to replace these two bridge structures.

The Clear Creek Road bridge (PM 1.82) was built in 1940 and is 73 years old. It is a one-lane crossing, 14-feet wide and 27-feet long. Approximately 150 vehicles use the crossing daily (both directions, 2010 traffic counts). The bridge deck is made of reinforced concrete slab on steel girder. The Clear Creek Road bridge (PM 0.25) was built in 1957 and is 56 years old. It is a one-lane crossing, 10-feet wide and 34- feet long. Approximately 450 vehicles use the crossing daily (both directions, 2010 traffic counts). The bridge deck is made of reinforced concrete slab on steel stringer. Clear Creek (PM 1.82) has extensive scour in foundation, rust on steel girder, and bottom flange of left girder is damaged in mid span. Clear Creek (PM 0.25) has exposed rebar, diagonal crack on the back of the abutments, heavy rust on steel girder, and minor section loss from pack rust at foundation 2 left girder. Both bridges are Fractural Critical and Scour Critical.

The bridges are routinely inspected by Caltrans every two years and are given a Sufficiency Rating (SR) from 0 to 100 based on 140 elements. If the SR is less than 80, the bridge is eligible for rehabilitation. If it is less than 50, the bridge is eligible for replacement. The SR for the Clear Creek bridge (PM 1.82) was 33.5 in 2011 and the SR for the Clear Creek bridge (PM 0.25) was 18.6 in 2011. Both bridges are classified by Caltrans as Structurally Deficient.

The Clear Creek (PM 1.82) and Clear Creek (PM 0.25) Road bridges meet federal criteria for replacement and funding under the HBP Off Federal Aid System 100% Reimbursement Program.In April 2012, the County received federal authorization to complete the planning and environmental phase and scope these projects. The HBP program requires this phase of work be completed within 10 years of the initial authorization date.

An initial public informational meeting was held on November 20, 2013 at Pleasant Valley Middle School. Engineering staff from the Transportation Division provided an informational presentation on these two bridge projects. As the project advances, project updates will be posted on the County website. The public will also have the opportunity to review and comment on the draft environmental documents.

Bridge Closures During Construction
The existing bridge (PM 1.82) will be required to be closed for few days during construction with detours. The Clear Creek (PM 1.82) detour route is approximately 5 miles (fifteen minutes travel time) on Sierra Springs Drive to Clear Creek Road