Picture this vertical lift bridge spanning the Sacramento River, linking Yolo County to the west with the capital city to the east. Often known as the M Street Bridge, this elegant span once carried U.S. Route 40 — until that highway was truncated to east of Salt Lake City — and carried US Route 99W down the western portion of the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Red Bluff. Today the bridge is maintained by the California Department of Transportation as State Route 275, connecting West Capitol Avenue and Cabaldon Parkway, formerly Tower Bridge Gateway, with the Capitol Mall.
The Tower Bridge you see replaced the 1911 M Street Bridge, which began life as a swing through-truss railroad bridge; later, nine-foot roadway sections were added as cantilevered sections on both sides of the existing rail bridge. Sacramento’s population more than doubled between 1910 and 1935, rendering the older crossing inadequate. In recognition of its significance, the Tower Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Notice the Sacramento River below, leading toward West Capitol Avenue, Cabaldon Parkway, and the Capitol Mall.