A five-year road and bridge improvement plan is slated for Nevada County which will cost an estimated $115 million.

This year the county will replace the Soda Springs Bridge over the Yuba River, estimated to cost $2.5 million, with a rebuild of the Hirschdale Road bridge planned for 2021.

“This particular year we’re going to be working with bridges,” said Patrick Perkins, principal civil engineer for Nevada County.

The plan includes annual striping, paving of roads as well as brushing and shoulder improvements over the next five years.

“These are typically things such as cleaning ditches, vegetation control, brush clearing,” which will allow road crews to stripe and patch roads and repair potholes, said Perkins.

Donner Pass Road will also be rehabilitated and widened for bike lanes from Soda Springs to Truckee town limits. Though the county is contributing $310,000 towards the project, the federal government will be funding nearly the entire $16.5 million project through a Federal Lands Access Program grant. Perkins said the federal government is in the process of awarding the grant right now.

“We are participating financially, but the feds are running the project,” said Perkins. “That’s going to take care of the entire road surface and add shoulders for bike lanes.”

Placer County will be contributing another $320,000 towards the Donner Pass Road project.

The projects are laid out in the county’s Capital Improvement Plan which forecasts the cost of needed projects, according to a staff report. If the projects are funded they will be underway within a five year period. In this Capital Improvement Plan cycle the county expects to receive $70 million in state and federal grants.

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierrasun.com.