Tower Bridge - U.S. 40 - The National Road on Waymarking.com

The Tower Bridge was the first vertical lift span in the State of California. Highway 40 crossed the river at this point into the City of Sacramento and on past the Capitol of the State of California. The route was realigned and renamed I-80 in the 1960's. Highway 40 was the first US highway to be completely decommissioned by the state of California. In an effort that began in 2001 portions of the highway are now signed as Historic Highway 40 in Sacramento.

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".

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

Below is a brief history from Wikipedia :
In March 1926, 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.

According to the California Highways web page describing the route the Highway 40 alignment was defined in 1909. That web site also links to a map of the area showing the 1930's era routing of the highway.

Americana: Roadside Attraction Significant Interest: Bridge Milestone / Marker: Other Web Address: [Web Link]

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