MENDOCINO COUNTY – Caltrans reported this week that the Russian River Bridge Replacement project on Route 222 (Talmage Road) in Mendocino County is on schedule.

The $5.4 million project, which was fully funded by the American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was awarded to CC Myers Inc. of Rancho Cordova in June.

Work to date has consisted of ordering custom fabricated materials needed for the construction of the new bridge, finalizing environmental mitigation plans, and clearing trees and brush to allow utility companies to move their services before major construction begins in May 2010.

Next April a temporary signal will be installed and one-way traffic control will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week, through fall 2011.

Motorists should anticipate up to 15-minute delays during work hours and 5-minute delays at other times.

This bridge, built in 1954, is being replaced due to scour and the migration of the river channel.

Scour results from water flows eroding the foundation or footings of a bridge.

The new bridge will increase safety by providing two 12-foot traffic lanes with wider shoulders.

California leads the nation with more than $2 billion in Recovery Act funding obligated to more than 700 highway and local street projects statewide. Of these, 370 projects worth $1.97 billion have been awarded to contractors to begin work, with an additional $500 million in federal stimulus funds expected to be awarded on 131 projects by February 2010.