 | | | The proposed new Canyon Bridge. Graphic provided | | | | | | Canyon Bridge is necessary to reach Pinehurst Road and the unincorporated Canyon area. The 1936 piece of infrastructure that crosses the large Moraga Creek (the west branch of the San Leandro Creek) was found structurally deficient by the California Department of Transportation and eligible for replacement. The Town of Moraga submitted and was awarded a grant through the Federal Highway Bridge Program to fund a replacement of the 104-foot long structure with a new bridge. The initial study is now approved.
The town council reviewed the initial study and design proposed by town Public Works Director Edric Kwan. The director reminded the council members that the daily traffic on the bridge is approximately 6,000 vehicles. The design of the bridge is constrained by features on both sides, including on one side the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail, a steep hillside, private residences and numerous utilities, and on the other side the banks of the creek itself and Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School property.
The design proposed is for two lanes for vehicular traffic, as it is today, with the addition of pedestrian and bicycle lanes. The bridge is often used by groups of bicyclists that enjoy riding the hills, and by pedestrians strolling on the Lafayette-Moraga Trail.
David Bruzzone, whose family owns Indian Ridge, a property that could be developed and would have access to downtown Moraga through the bridge, sent a letter to Kwan asking the town to consider building a four-lane bridge. Council members Jeanette Fritzky and Kymberleigh Korpus asked the director if this option could be studied. He responded that Canyon Road itself has only two lanes, and that there was a risk to lose the grant that had been awarded to replace what exists, not create something much larger.
When work starts, one lane of the bridge will stay open as not to completely interrupt traffic. The project might take two years to be completed.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA