New Bernal Avenue bridges scrapped - for now New Bernal Avenue bridges scrapped - for now (June 25, 2004)

Red-legged frog, special design work hike costs above allocated funds
by Jeb Bing

Two multi-million-dollar projects to build new Bernal Avenue bridges over the Arroyo del Valle near Vineyard Avenue and across the Arroyo de la Laguna near Foothill Road have been scrapped, at least for now.

Both bridges were scheduled to open this year, or at least be under construction.

But Public Works Director Rob Wilson said new cost estimates for the projects exceed budgeted allocations. With no funds available to cover the higher estimates, planning for both bridges has been tabled.

The proposed second two-lane bridge across the Arroyo del Valle was considered "urgently needed" to handle increased traffic at Bernal and Vineyard and to accommodate emergency calls for fire trucks into Vintage Hills from the new Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department Headquarters and Station 1 next to the bridge. The new concrete bridge was to be part of an estimated $3 million street improvement project at Vineyard and Bernal, that included traffic signals which have since been installed and intersection traffic lane improvements. The bridge would have accounted for up to $2 million of that allocation, but new environmental and regulatory issues have hiked the cost.

"Based on impacts to potential habitat for the California red-legged frog and identified wetlands," Wilson said, "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now requiring a lengthy review process prior to initiation of bridge construction. Finding suitable mitigation sites would be a challenging task and require a significant amount of time and effort for site research and coordination."

A consulting firm estimated it would cost the city at least $25,000 to conduct an environmental review and make recommendations. Instead, the City Council placed a hold on building the bridge to see if its new General Plan review now under way determines that it is still needed.

Besides the bridge construction costs, the city already spent $1 million three years ago to buy the corner lot and an old house at Bernal and Vineyard to make room for the second bridge. That payment, including an additional $50,000 in relocation costs, went to Gary Cedoline, who moved to Dublin. Since then, PG&E has used the property to tunnel under the arroyo where it installed a high voltage electric line.

Although the two two-lane bridges were considered necessary in 2001 when the second bridge was approved, new traffic calming efforts on both Bernal and Vineyard avenues south of the bridge have reduced traffic in each direction to only one lane.

The proposed second bridge would be built over the Arroyo de la Laguna between I-680 and Foothill Road. At the insistence of nearby homeowners' organizations, the bridge was designed as a "look-alike" to match the 65-year-old steel structure now there. That bridge has only one lane in each direction for Bernal traffic and limited space for pedestrians and bicycles. The second bridge also would have only one lane, but the extra lane available on the old bridge would be converted into a safer bike and pedestrian pathway.

The project, which is now estimated to cost $2 million, was to be financed by developers of Laguna Oaks and Windsor Estates, and by Greenbriar Homes and associates, the developers of the Bernal property, with both groups agreeing to pay 50 percent of the cost. However, Greenbriar's financial obligation was capped at $500,000 which, assuming the other developer coalition still pays 50 percent of the new cost, would leave a $500,000 funding shortfall.

Wilson said that without city funding to fill the gap or the construction of a simpler, less costly bridge, the project won't go forward. He planned to meet with neighborhood groups to discuss construction options before making a recommendation to the City Council on July 20.

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