Stockton, CA.

2014

Weitzman and his design team were selected by the Stockton City Council to design and fabricate aesthetic enhancements for the I-5 French Camp Road Interchange twin bridge, a key component of Caltrans’ $52 million interchange reconstruction project. For this gateway bridge—an entryway to Stockton Metropolitan Airport—Weitzman found inspiration in the surrounding Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta.

The Delta is one of California’s most important ecological resources. It sustains approximately 500 plant and animal species, including the Pacific salmon and herons. The area also provides drinking water to much of the region.

Using the Delta as source material to design their custom form liner patterns, the team combined representational imagery and abstract design. Herons, shown flying and standing in a field of marsh grass, and monumentally scaled swimming salmon appear on the bridge’s wing walls. These naturalistic elements are paired with elegant, textured abstract patterns—derived from the Delta’s topography—on the bridge beams and slope walls.