Isleton Bridge in the Sacramento River Delta Turns 100
Celebration held to honor the rural bridge on State Route 160
ISLETON - Caltrans and other dignitaries gathered today to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Isleton Bridge on State Route 160 (SR-160), which crosses the Sacramento River near Isleton, about four miles northeast of Rio Vista in the delta region of southern Sacramento County.
Attending the event were State Senator Bill Dodd and Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who passed a proclamation naming October 27, 2023, “Isleton Bridge Day.”
The Isleton Bridge is a double-leafed draw bridge with steel roadway sections that draw up and away from each other to allow ships to pass. This bridge type may also be referred to as bascule, from the French balance scale, because the bridge uses counterweights to aid in the opening and closing of the moveable sections.
"For 100 years, the Isleton Bridge has been the little bridge that could," said Leah Budu, Caltrans District 4’s Deputy District Director of Maintenance, "reliably serving the small family cars as well as the enormous semi-trucks taking agricultural products to market.”
“Likewise, the bridge serves marine traffic,” said Moe Azar, Caltrans District 3’s Deputy District Director of Maintenance. “On the river below, you can see small craft glide quietly below the span, but the bridge can also allow passage of surprisingly large ships by opening the spans."
On October 27, 1923, the Isleton Chamber of Commerce held a dedication ceremony to open the 624-foot, two-lane bridge serving the agricultural communities and the Sacramento/San Joaquín Delta Region. One hundred years later, the Isleton Bridge still performs that mission.
