FOLSOM, Calif.—Plans for a bridge over the American River in Folsom to ease traffic in the capital suburb have passed through the Legislature.

A land-purchase bill authorizing the $105 million bridge was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Senate. Folsom Mayor Andy Morin said the bridge could be built by December 2008 if the bill is signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“There are multiple steps to this process, and every time we get through one, it’s a shorter path to getting this thing built,” Morin said.

The bill would allow the city to buy 14 acres from Folsom prison, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and two Folsom residents to build the bridge.

City officials have been pushing for construction of the bridge since 2003, when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation closed a two-lane road over Folsom Dam fearing it could be a terrorist target.

Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the bill, but Republican proponents say they’ve received assurance from his office that he will sign it. The governor must act by mid-September.