Green Valley Road at Indian Creek Bridge & Mound Springs Creek Bridges

El Dorado County has an inventory of 79 bridges. Twenty-four of these bridges are in the Community Development Agency Transportation Division’s 2015 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Two of the CIP bridge projects are crossings over Indian Creek, CIP No. 77127, and Mound Springs Creek, CIP No. 77136. Both bridges are located on Green Valley Road. Planning is currently underway to replace these two bridge structures.

The Green Valley Road at Indian Creek Bridge was built in 1935, widened in 1975, and is 80 years old. It is a narrow two-lane crossing that is 28.2 feet wide. This bridge has substandard barriers/railings, approach roadway and geometrics; deficient hydraulics; poor site distance at adjacent roadways; and, concrete is spalling on abutments. The Green Valley Road at Mound Springs Creek Bridge was also built in 1935 and is 80 years old. It is a narrow two-lane crossing that is 22.3 feet wide. This bridge has substandard barriers/railings, approach roadway and geometrics; deficient hydraulics; poor site distance at adjacent roadways; and, concrete is spalling in various locations. Approximately 4200 vehicles use these crossings daily with speed ranging from 40 to 55 mph. There are many accident report histories on this roadway.

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. Generally 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 both the Indian Creek Bridge and the Mound Springs Creek Bridge are 68.1. Both bridges are classified by Caltrans as Functionally Obsolete.

The Indian Creek and Mound Springs Creek Bridges meet federal criteria for replacement and funding under the HBP Reimbursement Program.

In April 2011, the County received federal authorization to complete the planning, environmental phase, and scope for the Indian Creek Bridge, and in April 2012, the Mound Springs Creek Bridge received its federal authorization. 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 August 27, 2015 at the Planning Commission Hearing Room. 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.

There is no plan to close Green Valley Road during the construction of these bridges. The plan is to maintain two-lane traffic throughout construction and have minimal periods of one lane traffic control.