By Kathy Chouteau
The City of Pinole is hosting a Virtual Workshop regarding the San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement Project Wed., Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. on Zoom to share design alternatives and garner community feedback.
A 2018 Structure Inventory and Appraisal Report found that the bridge, which was constructed in 1938 and links Pinole and Hercules, was structurally deficient and “does not meet modern seismic design criteria and “current geometric standards” for vehicles, pedestrians or bicyclists, per the City on its website. The City stated that the project “will improve public safety for all users.”
The bridge’s sufficiency rating of 33.5 qualified it for Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Highway Bridge Program (HBP) replacement funding, said the City.
A Project Study Report (PSR) in 2015 estimated the total project cost for the San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement Project to be $16,766,800–$893,000 for preliminary engineering, $100,000 for right of way and $15,773,800 for construction, according to the City’s website.
Drawing from the PSR cost estimates, the state included the project in the HPB plan and committed to providing 88.53 percent of the project costs, with the local share of the project being 11.47 percent. The state authorized $879,102.90 to proceed with the design and environmental phases, according to the City.
The City said the local share for the design and environmental phases “has been secured from CCTA Measure J grant funds” and that it was also awarded an STMP grant of $1,600,000 for the additional local share for the design, environmental and construction phase.
A 2018 qualifications based selection by the City for the project’s preliminary engineering phase identified the total budget to complete this phase at $2,594,600. This exceeded the amount Caltrans agreed to for the state’s share of the project in the current HPB, said the City, which added, “There are conditions which warrant an increase in the overall budget for the project.”
The City said that the preliminary engineering will be done in two phases because of funding limitations and that completion of the preliminary design is needed to develop the project’s final cost.
Construction is tentatively planned to occur between 2023‐2024 if the funding for construction is available, according to the City.
Learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement Project here and the Virtual Workshop here.
