Fair Oaks Bridge, Metal truss bridge in Fair Oaks, California.

Fair Oaks Bridge is a Pennsylvania Petit through Pratt truss bridge that carries a pedestrian and bicycle crossing over a wide bend of the American River. Its two main spans of about 200 feet each, together nearly 500 feet of truss, were built by the Western Bridge and Construction Company of Omaha in 1907-1909. Long main spans kept piers out of the dangerous current.

The first bridge here opened in 1901, backed by the Chicago-Fair Oaks Club and the Fair Oaks Development Company, and a Southern Pacific spur and depot followed that summer. Floods destroyed it in March 1907, and the Western Bridge and Construction Company of Omaha built the present double truss bridge between 1907 and 1909 for $63,000. It carried traffic until 1967 and joined the National Register of Historic Places in September 2006.

The bridge played a key role in connecting the two sides of the local community and shaping how people moved through the region. It enabled farmers to reach markets more easily and influenced the growth pattern of settlements in the area.

The crossing is restricted to pedestrians and cyclists and connects the river park trails north of Upper Sunrise Drive. Plan to spend time exploring the surrounding area and river landscape during your visit.

The bridge is the second-oldest surviving example of its truss type in California, after the 1893 Folsom bridge. Its two 200-foot main spans were unusually long for their time, designed by the county surveyor to limit piers in the river's dangerous current. It is also a rare California work of Omaha's Western Bridge and Construction Company.