Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008

Bridge repairs close a stretch of Lander

Corroded piers lead to 30-day, $2M effort in Merced County

Well-traveled Highway 165, also known as Lander Avenue, is closed in western Merced County while repairs are being made to a bridge over the San Joaquin River, about two miles south of Stevinson.

The state Department of Transportation said it decided to safeguard the traveling public after an underwater inspection last week discovered corrosion on the bridge's steel piers. Caltrans expects to begin repairs Thursday and to have the 409-foot bridge open again in 30 days.

Highway 165 is closed at the bridge a mile south of the junction with Highway 140. It also is closed to northbound traffic at Henry Miller Road north of Los Banos.

Motorists going south on the state route from Hilmar will encounter detour signs at Highway 140. They can take Highway 140 west to Gustine, then go south on Highway 33 to Interstate 5 and then Highway 152.

The southern barricade at Henry Miller Road is a "soft closure," so local residents can use the road to get to their homes and so people can access the duck-hunting wetlands and wildlife refuges in the area.

A dive team discovered that the bridge needed repairs during a routine inspection Jan. 16, said Zelie Nogueira, a spokeswoman for the Caltrans District 10 office in Stockton.

The bridge wasn't in danger of collapsing, but engineers were concerned that the bridge could suffer damage from seismic activity, she said. "We are erring on the side of safety," Nogueira said.

Caltrans has hired a contractor to pile-drive new bridge supports into the river bottom and then stabilize the piers with cross-bracing. The existing piers consist of steel surrounding concrete.

The Caltrans District 10 office has asked the agency's state director to approve $2 million for the emergency repairs. It's possible the repairs won't cost that much and the work will be completed earlier than the 30-day time frame, Nogueira said.

The bridge was built in 1959 and is supposed to be replaced in a state project scheduled to begin in 2010. The emergency repairs will keep the route open until the new bridge is built, officials said.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.