Los Gatos Weekly-Times Federal dollars will upgrade several bridges in Los Gatos By Jeff Kearns Los Gatos motorists will soon be getting a handful of upgraded bridges, thanks to some handouts from the federal government. The Lark Avenue and Blossom Hill Road crossings over Los Gatos Creek are set for seismic retrofits scheduled to begin in June of this year and wrap up by mid-October. The projects, approved by the Town Council Feb. 1, are part of a statewide upgrade of more than 1,000 bridges identified by Caltrans after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. According to Public Works Director Scott Baker, almost all of the work will take place under the bridges and isn't expected to have a major effect on traffic flow. Neither of the bridges was damaged in 1989, Baker said. Although the project's $224,000 bill will be picked up by federal and state funds--split 80 percent to 20 percent, respectively--Baker's department will oversee the work. The federal government's share comes from the Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation program. Both bridges are owned by the town. Two more bridges, both on Quito Road, are also eligible for funds from the same program, and are scheduled to be replaced in early 2000. The bridges over San Tomas Aquinas creek, which flows north into San Jose parallel to Quito Road, were built around 1915 and are very narrow. Both are near the intersection of Quito and Old Adobe Road. Because one of the bridges is only 23 feet wide, the town built a second bridge alongside it three years ago for pedestrians and cyclists. The second bridge is only about a foot wider. In addition to widening both bridges to 36 feet, the new design provides some flood control by allowing for a greater flow of water. The project was conceived in 1995 by the City of Saratoga, the lead agency. (Quito Road forms Los Gatos' western border with Saratoga.) At about the same time, Saratoga and Monte Sereno built a new bridge on Quito Road near Bicknell Avenue. Although the federal government will pick up 80 percent of the cost of the two new bridges, the state won't, so Los Gatos and Saratoga will be splitting the remainder of the bill three ways, along with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which has a right-of-way easement along the creek. "The bridges basically need to be replaced because they've become structurally deficient, although they're perfectly safe right now," said John Cherbone, Saratoga's acting public works director. According to Cherbone, the project was delayed by cost overruns in the mid-1990s, and got lost in the shuffle. Originally budgeted at $611,000, Cherbone says the bill for the two could be more than $1 million by now, thanks to the regional building boom. Saratoga's application is still floating around inside the Caltrans system. Although the state isn't funding the project, Caltrans still needs to approve spending the federal money for bridge replacement projects. "We're still waiting to hear back from Caltrans for some additional funding. We just want to make sure we have enough money," he said. "Things have really changed in the last few years, and now construction costs in the valley have just skyrocketed." [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 10, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.