We’ve needed more bridges over the American River for some time, and built well, another bridge would be a beautiful addition to the Parkway, the river, and the ability of people to not only transport themselves around a region, but to enjoy the scenic view over the river on the way.
An excerpt.
Planners look at bridge to ease I-5 squeeze
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PST Sunday, November 5, 2006
Tom McDonagh lives in North Natomas right next to Interstate 5, and every day when he takes the freeway over the American River into downtown, he notices one thing above all.
He is so not alone.
Some 188,000 drivers shoulder their way daily over the only major road between the booming northern suburbs and downtown.
"Every year, it's been getting exponentially worse," McDonagh lamented last week. "Now, if I don't get on the road by 6:45 (a.m.), I'm going to be in stop-and-go traffic."
New traffic projections suggest the I-5 river crossing could become Sacramento's worst bridge bottleneck, according to analysts at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the region's main transportation planning agency.
To avoid massive daily gridlock, those officials plan to resurrect the controversial idea of a new bridge -- designed for local traffic only -- across the American River between Natomas and downtown somewhere just east of I-5.
That way, short-distance commuters "don't have to get on the freeway and back off again" amid heavy interstate traffic, SACOG's Pete Hathaway said.
