The 1919 bridge was replaced during seventeen years of piecewise construction. The finished 1943–1960 bridge consists of thirteen steel Warren truss spans (with one of those being the vertical-lift chorded Warren truss main span) carried on twelve piers. The main lift span weighs , with an equal amount in counterweights, so the lift mechanism operates using two electric motors, one in each tower. In the event of electrical failure, backup electrical power is provided by a
diesel generator set. Clearance under the raised lift is to the highest anticipated water level, and the navigation channel is wide between the timber
fenders protecting the tower piers. With the lift down, vertical clearance is only . No one was injured in the crash, although two youths who were stopped on the bridge while the freighter passed were tossed into the river and were subsequently rescued. Once
Ilice was freed from the wreckage, she proceeded upriver to Sacramento to take on its scheduled load of rice. The remnants of the destroyed span were cut free from the bridge and dropped into the water. A temporary repair consisting of a steel trestle and two steel girders was erected after three weeks, with a ferry carrying traffic across the river while the temporary span was erected. The
Marine Boss crane barge, built for the heavy girder lifts during the construction of the 1967
San Mateo Bridge, erected a permanent replacement span (which included a cantilevered section to replace damage in the adjacent truss span) in June 1967 and removed both the wreckage from the original bridge and the temporary span at the same time.
Renamed for Helen Madere In 1998, the Rio Vista Bridge was officially designated the Helen Madere Memorial Bridge after Helen Madere, a former vice-mayor of Rio Vista who served as that city's representative to the
Solano Transportation Authority. The legislative act also cited her instrumental role in improving driver safety on California State Route 12. On August 9, 2018, the bridge again became stuck open for ten hours, until work crews were able to manually lower the draw. 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, as the gearbox would need to be rebuilt in Alabama. The bridge was raised by hand, closing to road traffic overnight every few days to allow marine traffic to pass. Repairs to the bridge were completed on September 14. ==Proposed replacement==