At the Fallbrook Community Planning Group meeting on Monday, Sandra Jacobson from CalTrout gave a talk about the plans for the bridge on Sandia Creek Drive. (Pix and info for this post were swiped from Dr. Jacobson.)
The old bridge on Sandia Creek Drive is crumbling. Over 2,000 cars per day cross the bridge and it is prone to flooding.
It’s also on our fire evacuation route and used by emergency vehicles. It’s also a barrier to fish spawning. And it’s on a blind curve, so it’s dangerous for pedestrians!
Yowzah! Time for a new bridge! Back in 2016, the county started looking at this bridge. The new design will remove the dangerous curve, restore the river flow, be safer for everyone, flood less. There’s even a blinky light pedestrian crossing on the plan — my favorite kind of crosswalk, keeping pedestrians safer.
The old curved road will be partially re-used for access to the parking lot for Santa Margarita County Preserve, one of the local hidden gems and it will be so great to make the access safe. The new 574′ steel bridge will be so much better.
Many thanks to CalTrout for their hard work leading this project, scaring up funds and representing the fish! Over $18 million is going into this bridge, much of it raised through grants. Construction zones are a pain, but once the new bridge is in place, we’ll all be so much safer!
