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OWN VOICE. ~ InPerspective by Gregg Dieguez —
The recent storm damage to the concrete supports for the Medio Creek bridge raised questions about whether that damage would delay the already-delayed project any further. Here’ what we know from an internal County email…
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The concrete arch bridge on Mirada Road under the closed pedestrian and bicycle bridge collapsed on Wednesday December 15, 2021. At bottom of this article is a PDF from the County with photos of the bridge from many years ago, the 70’s, and more recent pictures (arch in place and arch collapsed).
The County is continuing to finalize the plans and specifications to replace the existing pedestrian/bicycle bridge so they can put it out to bid in January, but is also having to focus on emergency work due to the bridge collapse. Note that the Coastal Commission had expanded the design by requiring some beach access, and other changes, which were part of the initial replacement project delays.
Immediate emergency work includes:
- Working with a contractor to break up some larger pieces of the concrete and place them at the base on the bluffs to re-establish a channel for the creek water to flow through. This work will also minimize the potential of pooling of water at the base of the bluffs. The contractor work will include covering a portion of the bluffs with plastic to minimize additional erosion from rain/water. Due to the current and anticipated weather this work will not commence until after the new year. This work will also have to be in concert with the tides, which reduce the number of work hours in a day.
- Communicating with the City of HMB about the situation. County Public Works has obtained an encroachment permit from them for this work (access will be from the south side).
- Communicating with the sewer district relative to the abandoned sewer pipe that came down with the bridge. Note that this pipe was decommissioned by GCSD earlier this year, and a new pipe route was installed. Thanks to GCSD for thinking ahead!
- Lastly, notifying the permitting agencies of the emergency work to be done by the contractor as described above.
County Public Works’ hope is that this work is completed, additional bluff erosion is minimal, and the existing ped/bike piers remain intact as the are to be reused for the new ped/bridge. However, I am aware of no guarantees and the weather continues, so stay tuned for a firm project completion date in 2022.
https://www.coastsidebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Mirada-Road-Bridge-Photos_12-23-2021.pdf
More From Gregg Dieguez ~ InPerspective
Mr. Dieguez is a native San Franciscan, longtime San Mateo County resident, and semi-retired entrepreneur who causes occasional controversy on the Coastside. He is a member of the MCC, but his opinions here are his own, and not those of the Council. In 2003 he co-founded MIT’s Clean Tech Program here in NorCal, which became MIT’s largest alumni speaker program. He lives in Montara. He loves a productive dialog in search of shared understanding.
