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A series of cranes and other heavy machinery are hard at work on the bridge that crosses over Arroyo Del Valle.

The project includes the construction of a second bridge on Bernal Avenue near Vineyard Avenue and is expected to provide some relief from the usually dense traffic there.

Expected to cost a total of $7.5 million, the Bernal bridge and street widening project is planned for completion in April 2009. It will allow for two lanes in each direction and the widening of Bernal Avenue to the bridge. Funds will also go toward installing a sewer line and the creation of wetland and riparian habitat in the arroyo to offset construction impacts.

Gordon N. Ball Inc. of Alamo was chosen by the City Council in late June to perform the construction work, estimated at $3.9 million.

The project is being funded through the city's Capital Improvement Program. Initially, the work was anticipated to be completed in 2003, but city staff said construction and final design had to be postponed while staff identified environmental mitigations that are required by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Before the work could begin, the city also demolished a home that was located on the corner of Valley and Bernal.

The expansion between Vineyard and Nevada Court, where Fire Station No. 1 is located, will allow two lanes and a bike lane in each direction.

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