Castle and Cooke Propose New Bridge: 
Underscores Need for New Community Plan

 

Castle and Cooke, owners of the Saddle Creek and Copperopolis Town Square developments, has proposed that a new bridge be built east of the current bridge crossing Lake Tulloch . The company disclosed the concept to the Lake Tulloch Alliance earlier this year and just made it public. 
 

The construction of the bridge would literally open thousands of areas now totally undevelop-able on the lake since they are now unreacheable. This plan is just another reason for a new general plan for the county and why the proposed Copperopolis Community Plan fails to deal with the real plans of developers.
 

A recently mailed brochure by Castle and Cook predicts the Copperopolis area population to reach 40,000 in the future which is five times larger than Sonora . This road proposal along with the company's other vision of building a hotel/inn, marina, resturant, and even conference site on the lake clearly underscores the need, as recognized by the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors to redo the Copperopolis Community Plan.

LTA is pleased to present this recent story in the Union Democrat on the proposal:

Developer pitches bridge plan 

Published: June 26, 2006 

By CHRIS NICHOLS  

A plan to help build a new 1,600-foot-long bridge high across Tulloch Reservoir's eastern arm was made public Friday by one of Copperopolis' largest developers.  

Dave Haley, vice president of Castle and Cooke Calaveras, Inc., pitched the plan before a packed luncheon crowd at the Saddle Creek lodge, explaining that there needs to be a better, safer way for commuters to travel across the reservoir.  

Haley did not commit to funding the project. Instead he said Calaveras County should use $10 million in available state and federal funds to pay for it.  

The small, narrow O'Byrnes Ferry Bridge — a 49-year-old span that's been called "functionally obsolete" by Calaveras County's Public Works director — is now the only way to cross Tulloch Reservoir from Calaveras County to Tuolumne County.  

Officials from both counties have long planned to either retrofit or replace O'Byrnes Ferry Bridge at its current location, at the bottom of a winding stretch of county road, about 20 feet above the reservoir.  

But Haley said Friday that building a new, larger bridge 200 feet above the reservoir would be a better solution — eliminating the safety concerns.  

The sharp curves leading to the bridge have contributed, at least in part, to two fatal big-rig crashes on the Tuolumne County side of the bridge in the last four years, said Roger Pitto, president of San Andreas-based Sierra Engineering. Pitto is the lead engineer on the proposed new bridge project.  

Haley noted there's $10 million in state and federal funds available to retrofit the old bridge, money he said could be used for the new, larger span.

Castle and Cooke has already paid to create the initial design sketches, but Haley did not say whether the company would pay for any additional costs. 

Haley said there may be additional state and federal money available if needed.  

"The ($10 million) is dedicated now — why fix the old bridge when you can do it right?" he said, after the luncheon, sponsored by the Calaveras County Chamber of Commerce. 

Haley said he's been considering the idea for about six months. He said he recently submitted preliminary sketches of the new bridge to Calaveras County officials.  

The developer said his company is still determining the proposed project's price.  

Pitto estimated that the new, larger bridge could cost more than three times the retrofit or replacement costs of the smaller bridge — said by county officials to be as high as $10 million. 

Part of the high cost, Pitto said, would come from digging through the hard, thick lava rock behind Table Mountain , a large picturesque peak on the Calaveras County side of the reservoir. The bridge would connect from a much higher point on

A connector road would then run back to O'Byrnes Ferry Road about a half mile south of Copper Cove Drive, Haley said. 

Haley said he hopes to complete the project in about five years. 

Three county supervisors who attended Friday's luncheon did not return calls for comment about the new bridge. 

Haley added that he hopes to model the bridge after Auburn's scenic Foresthill Bridge , a span that soars 800 feet above the North Fork of the American River . 

Castle and Cooke has several large residential developments under construction near Tulloch Reservoir. They're also building the Copperopolis Town Square, a 28-acre retail and residential center nearby, at Highway 4 and Little John Road.   Haley said he has not contacted Tuolumne County officials about the bridge project. 

Tuolumne County officials have expressed concern about Copperopolis' growth and the traffic it's added to the county's roads, especially at the intersection of

Castle and Cooke is not involved with the Oak Canyon project. 

Haley acknowledged that the new bridge would help attract shoppers from Tuolumne County to Castle and Cooke's new town square. But, he said, that wasn't the primary purpose for pitching the new bridge idea. He said ensuring a well-planned community near Tulloch Reservoir and Copperopolis would benefit all developers and residents. 
 

"We're not trying to draw anyone," Haley said. "They're going to come anyway." 

  Contact Chris Nichols at cnichols@uniondemocrat.com or 736-1234.