Two roadway projects at the near-opposite ends of Yolo County will see long-awaited work get under way relatively soon.

On Tuesday the Yolo County Board of Supervisor are expected to approve a $212,440 agreement with Oeste Ranch Partners for a roadway and utility easement, as well as a temporary construction easement for the second phase of the County Road 98 Bike and Safety Improvement Project south of Davis.

Additionally, the county could soon go out to bid to replace the Rumsey Bridge on County Road 41 in the Capay Valley.

The CR98 Bike and Safety Improvement Project is meant to extend the bicycle lane work completed in 2014 between Woodland and County Road 29 south to the Solano County line, according to county’s Department of Community Services.

The project has received federal transportation funding for the preliminary engineering and project development, right of way, and construction phases through the Sacramento Area Council of Governments in the amounts of $2.36 million, $4.18 million and $8.72 million, respectively.

On Dec. 11, 2018, supervisors approved staff’s recommendation for roundabouts for the main intersections with CR98.

Caltrans authorized the county to initiate the right-of-way phase on Dec. 7, 2022. Subsequently, the right-of-way consultant, Monument ROW, Inc. and the survey consultant, Mark Thomas & Company, began their work.

In mid-September 2023, Monument began to contact all property owners to present written offers to acquire the easements needed for the project, but due to harvest season, most property owners elected to receive their offer packages via mail.

As a result, the county expects the right-of way-acquisition process to continue through 2025.

Additionally, on Nov. 7, 2023, provided a project update and recommended that staff be allowed to phase the project’s construction due to unsuccessful attempts to get additional grants to fund the entire cost of construction.

Based on the recommendation, the first construction phase would be between Solano County and Hutchison Drive.

Today, the right-of-way phase is fully funded, and staff is focusing first to acquire the right-of way needed for the utility relocation and the area within the first construction phase. All utilities will be relocated to the east side of CR98. Utility providers are working on the design for the entire project and have tentatively scheduled to relocate all facilities in the fall of 2026.

Meanwhile, in the Capay Valley, the Board is being asked to adopt plans and specifications for replacing the historic Rumsey Bridge on CR41. Authorization ill let the project go out to bid.

The purpose of bridge project is to replace the existing structurally deficient Rumsey Bridge that is near the end of its service life.

After extensive public outreach and assembling a feasibility study, the Board approved the following bridge replacement strategy on Dec. 15, 2015, according to Yolo County officials.

The strategy is for an approximate 400-foot-long, three-span, cast-in-place, prestressed concrete box girder structure with 28 feet of clear width between concrete barriers.

The replacement bridge will be located west of the existing bridge along a new upstream alignment. CR41 will also be oriented along a new bearing relative to the original alignment so that the new road intersects Hwy. 16 at a perpendicular angle.

County officials feel this will improve the intersection geometrics relative to the existing condition and allow for the existing bridge to remain open during construction to accommodate traffic. The existing bridge will be removed only after the new bridge has been opened to the public.

The Rumsey Bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its type, period, and method of construction, as a rare and significant example of a concrete tied arch bridge in the State of California.

Since the bridge will be replaced, a Memorandum of Agreement was executed on Dec. 4, 2019, by the State of California and Yolo County to provide several historical mitigation actions, including requirement of a monument that provides a brief history of the Rumsey Bridge, its engineering features, and its significance.

The Rumsey Improvement Association, The Greater Capay Valley Historical Society, and the Yolo County Historical Society each provided their concurrence with the MOA mitigations, as well.

Supervisors adopted the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration on Sept. 29, 2020, as the appropriate level of environmental review in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

In addition, County staff and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation staff collaborated early in the design and environmental phases of the project to ensure an acceptable design and bridge alignment.

An application to request right-of-way certification for the project was submitted to Caltrans on Dec. 10, 2024. A request for authorization to proceed with construction was submitted to Caltrans on Feb. 25, 2025.

The project, once a winning bidder has been identified and awarded the contract, should take around 270 working days to complete and is expected to be finished in 2026 or 2027.