West Sacramento port workers speak out over planned bridge in wake of Baltimore collapse
WEST SACRAMENTO — The Baltimore bridge collapse is leading workers at the Port of West Sacramento to speak up about a planned bridge going over the deep water channel there.
Tim Campbell has worked at the port for three decades. He is now the president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union at the Port of West Sacramento, a vital link to international commerce.
"Our region grows the best rice in the world. They love our rice," Campbell said. "Just because of the environment, the humidity, our soil."
Campbell showed us inside a port warehouse. The rice is stacked in bags twenty feet high.
"It's what we call high pilin. We high pile the rice," Campbell said.
The rice is then shipped to Korea and Japan.
Watching what happened at the port of Baltimore — a ship crashing right through a bridge — has left Campbell shaken.
"Gut-wrenching," Campbell said.
The City of West Sacramento is planning a new bridge over its deep water channel.
"We have an opportunity to build a first-class bridge, and we want to make sure that we build it right the first time," Campbell said.
The city is considering three options for the so-called Enterprise Bridge: a high fixed bridge, a low moveable bridge, and a low fixed bridge.
A low fixed bridge would shut down ship traffic altogether, leaving the port's future in danger.
"It's concerning to myself, my rank and file," Campbell said. "It's concerning to the region, It's concerning to our customers, yeah it's a major concern."
The Enterprise Bridge would extend Enterprise Boulevard over the deep water channel, connecting Interstate 80 with 'Southport Parkway.'
