[2] The main lift span can be raised to its full height in less than 90 seconds,[2] although the total operating cycle can disrupt road traffic for 8–25 minutes.

[8] Less than thirty years after being completed, the eastern timber trestles of the 1919 bridge were in poor condition, and construction of replacement steel trusses began in 1943.

The legislative act also cited her instrumental role in improving driver safety on California State Route 12.

[1] The bridge was raised to allow marine traffic to pass on July 7, 2012, and became stuck in that position for several hours due to a mechanical failure.

[16] It was unable to be raised again until August 16, blocking marine shipments of rice and cement to the Port of West Sacramento.

Caltrans made plans to manually raise and test the draw section after determining the motor gear box had failed, but warned motorists that repairs would take up to thirty days to complete,[15] as the gearbox would need to be rebuilt in Alabama.

Two goals were first, to remove the drawbridge or at least reduce the necessity of raising the bridge and second, to expand the existing roadway from two lanes to four.

The first study was performed from 1991 through 1994 at the request of the City of Rio Vista, which proposed eight alternatives for crossings at, north of and south of the current SR-12 alignment.

[22] Caltrans performed a 2012 study for the entire SR-12 corridor, which concluded the cost of a replacement high-level bridge would be close to US$1,000,000,000 (equivalent to $1,327,100,000 in 2023).

[8] Ultimately, the 2012 study concluded a fixed high-level bridge or a tunnel are the preferred alternatives to allow passage of both ship and road traffic, calling it "the single most important investment that can be made to improve SR-12.

After the bridge has been repainted, the mechanical and electrical systems will be upgraded, starting in spring 2022, at an anticipated cost to range between $11.9 and $19.2 million.