Image of the new La Rue Road Bridge
The new La Rue Road Bridge and accessible pathways into the Arboretum are now open!

La Rue Road Bridge Opening

The La Rue Bridge replacement project and 2-year detour around the bridge are officially over, with the paths in the Arboretum now open to the public. Over the past couple of years, the expansive project required pedestrians, bikers, and cars to maneuver around the construction via detours while the Arboretum walkways under and near the bridge were closed. 

La Rue Path
Photo of the beautiful steel detailing Landscape Architect Christina De Martini Reyes added as an homage to an older, smaller bridge in the Arboretum. Learn more in this news story.

The project replaced the 70-year-old La Rue Road Bridge over the Arboretum Waterway to allow for full bike lanes and wider sidewalks on the bridge plus safer pathways and greater visibility to people passing under the bridge. Though the bridge is now 20 feet wider, it has a significantly more open feel as it spans the entire length of the waterway without any piers. The bridge project also improved upon the previously steep ramps to the lower Arboretum paths, two of which are now universally accessible. The two steepest ramps have been converted into new staircases that provide a quick connection to the lower paths. 

Now that the project is completed, Arboretum and Public Garden are beginning to plant the banks and slopes, adding to the Arboretum collections and further enhancing the landscape.  (See photo below.)  

Find out more about the evolution of this project on the Arboretum and Public Garden Website and in this news article. Browse more photos of the project in this photo album

Image of UC Davis students planting a new landscape around the La Rue Road Bridge.
Students Zhenglin Zhang and Kimberly Au plant the area around the new La Rue Road Bridge. The area was designed by sustainable horticulture apprentices Riley Sholes and Chase Kautz. (Photo by Ryan Deering.)

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