Amador County – About 30 people attended a workshop Monday to look at ideas for replacements of Sutter Creek’s Main Street bridge.

Sutter Creek City Manager Sean Rabe said the workshop would get ideas of the type of bridge people wanted, so engineers could make more detailed renderings for Planning Commission and City Council consideration.

They discussed a concrete slab bridge, resembling the current bridge, and removing parking on the bridge to create 18-foot wide sidewalks for farmers markets, booths, or performers. They also requested renderings showing pedestrian views from the bridges.

Rebecca Neilon of Dokken Engineering said a truss bridge “would be more like the bridge that you had there before,” circa 1897. The design had two bridges with an eight-foot space in between, and a road median and trusses would keep traffic out of the creek.

Neilon said Dokken is “designing the bridge to not preclude the creek walk,” a future project idea, by giving it removable sections to add stairs.

The truss bridge would cost $1.3 million, built in two stages of two months each, with 9-foot tall trusses. To have a wider, single bridge, Neilon said the trusses would be taller.

The slab bridge would cost $1.2 million, built in two stages of four months each, and would need barriers of some sort to keep cars out of the creek.

Councilman Jim Swift suggested faux trusses on a slab bridge. He also suggested six-inch traffic curbs flush with sidewalks. Supervisor Louis Boitano said he liked the slab idea with faux trusses. Neilon said the faux trusses would still have to be big enough to keep cars out of the creek. Boitano said: “I’ve been here 57 years and I’ve never seen anybody drive into the creek.”

Rabe asked if they wanted the bridge to be invisible, as it now appears when cars park on it. Commissioner Robin Peters said the bridge essentially has “looked the same for the last 110 years, with no median, no trusses and no parade issues.” He said: “We need to be very cautious about making the bridge visible.” John Mottoros said it was a good point, but the bridge would not be invisible if it had three-foot curbs on each side.

Peters said Dokken should “divert its energy to bearings and railings.” Asked if the finish should match the city’s pedestrian bridge, Peters disagreed, saying: “We have the opportunity to use the rail as a minor focal point, and I’m not sure rusted steel is the look we want for downtown.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.