Demolition of 192 Bridges to begin in CA

Work begins Monday on the demolition and replacement of the bridges damaged in the January 9 storm and debris flows. Toro Canyon Bridge landed first on Caltrans’s demolition list, and contractor Security Paving Company of Sylmar will start to remove it on May 7. Next up will be the demolitions of Romero Canyon Creek and Montecito Creek bridges along State Route 192, at a cost of $20 million, said Caltrans spokesperson Jim Shivers. Arroyo Paredon Bridge will also replaced — by Lash Construction of Santa Barbara, a $10 million project — but no timeframe is yet available.

The reconstruction work is expected to take several more months on a roadway — known in various sections as Foothill Road, Toro Canyon Road, and East Valley Road — that carries 10,000 vehicles a day at its summer heights. The designs for the replacement bridges are nearing completion, with the planning being expedited, said Shivers.

At San Ysidro Creek and Toro Creek, the rails along the bridges are due to be demolished this June. They are currently open as one-way thoroughfares with controlled stop and yield signs. The other four bridges are impassable, except to emergency vehicles, and the SR 192 closed in those locations.
By Jean Yamamura