(FOX40.COM) — After 30 years, El Dorado County is closer than ever to improving connections between its larger communities and rural homes as the $93-million Mosquito Bridge project crosses the halfway point of construction.

In 1993, El Dorado County began looking for a better and safer way for motorists and emergency vehicles to cross the South Fork of the American River, about 6.5 miles northeast of Placerville.

Since 1939, a one-way, 142-foot-long timber suspension bridge has ferried drivers over the cold and fast-moving waters of the South Fork of the American River.

As the years have gone on, vehicles have become larger, heavier and more plentiful, with around 1,300 vehicles on average traversing the bridge daily between 2007 and 2011, according to the county.

The last major renovation to the aging bridge occurred in 2010 for $367,000.

While this bridge may not be the gateway to major metropolitan centers, it does provide a crucial link between emergency resources in Swansboro, Placerville and Camino.

The current bridge is too narrow and does not have the current weight capacity for modern firefighting vehicles and the roadway is too sharp and narrow at some points for the larger vehicles.

On May 17, 2022, the multi-million dollar contract was awarded to Shimmick Construction Co. Inc. and construction began in June 2022 with tree removal for the realignment of southbound and northbound Mosquito Road.

The new bridge will stand at about 400 feet tall with a two-lane roadway that spans 1,180 feet across the river canyon and is supported by two concrete piers each at 200 feet tall.

Downstream, the historic Mosquito Bridge and the old roadway will be reworked into a pedestrian and bikeway with gated entrances along the new alignment of Mosquito Road.

As of February, construction is just beyond the halfway point, with construction beginning on the two 200-foot-tall piers in January.

Recent video of the project shows that both rock-lined cut-ins have been completed and footings for the piers have begun to form.

According to the county, by December the superstructure of the bridge will begin construction with the completion expected in December 2025.