Tower Bridge - 99 W Sacramento California - U.S. Route 99 - The Pacific Highway on Waymarking.com

Frank Merriam the Governor of California in a speech during the dedication ceremony for this bridge claimed the structure to be "unexcelled in its architectural and engineering beauty & constituting an impressive western gateway to the Capitol City". This was the first vertical lift span in the State of California.

Highway 99W crossed the river at this point into the City of Sacramento and on past the Capitol of the State of California. The route met again with Highway 99E a few blocks east of the capitol where it continued south again as the reunited Highway 99. Going north Highway 99 was divided into east and west segments until Red Bluff.

A wonderfully detailed history of this crossing point and the Tower Bridge can be found at Highwayman's Road Reports, where there is a Highway 99 page specifically dedicated to the Bridges over the Sacramento River.

Below is a brief history from Wikipedia ;
In March 1925, construction was completed on the M Street Bridge in Sacramento. Seven years later, in 1933, the city realized that it needed a better crossing over the Sacramento River in case of war, and that the existing bridge was highly inadequate to handle heavy traffic. On December 22, 1933, the State of California, Sacramento County, and the Sacramento Northern Electric Railroad (later the Sacramento Northern Railway) held a conference to plan the new bridge. It was to be 52 feet (16 m) wide, with four lanes for cars, and one large center lane for trains.

The route through Sacramento is detailed at the California Highways web page describing the early highway. That web site also links to a map of the area showing the 1930's era routing of the highway.

This location is referenced in Chapter 13 of That Ribbon of Highway Volume I, Highway 99 Through the Pacific Northwest

State: California Nearest City: Sacramento Type: Structure - bridge or other historic infrastructure

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