Yolo Causeway

The Yolo Causeway is a 3.2-mile (5.2-kilometer) long elevated highway viaduct on Interstate 80 that crosses the Yolo Bypass floodplain and connects the cities of Sacramento, California and Davis, California (through West Sacramento, California).

An artist's representation of the original Yolo Causeway. Circa 1920.

The structure

An original stretch of the Causeway was opened in 1916 connecting what is now the city of West Sacramento with Davis, California. The viaduct contained one lane in each direction and in 1928 was made a part of the re-routed Lincoln Highway, the first road across America. Later, the causeway became a part of US Highways 40 and 99W. It also included a drawspan for barges that sometimes needed to cross the bypass.

The current causeway was built in 1962 and renamed the "Blecher-Freeman Memorial Causeway" after two California Highway Patrol officers who were shot to death in 1978 after a highway stop near the causeway. The causeway is composed of two bridges connected by an earth fill segment. The easternmost of the two bridges is the longer of the two and traffic reporters will sometimes refer to the two structures as the "long bridge" and the "short bridge".

The bypass

The 25,500 acre (103 km²) Yolo Bypass protects Sacramento and other California Central Valley communities from flooding. During wet seasons, it can be full of water.

The Yolo Bypass contains the Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area, the largest ecological restoration project west of the Everglades.

The Yolo Causeway as of August 2011 is undergoing a 30 million dollar renovation repaving and retrofitting project, with milling operations provided by ANRAK cooperation.

UCD-CSUS

The Causeway Classic College football game between the University of California, Davis and California State University, Sacramento and the Causeway Carriage trophy awarded to the winner of that game are both named after the Yolo Causeway.

External links

• Yolo Causeway - Davis Wiki
• Caltrans timeline
• CHP Memorial: Blecher-Freeman