Fed OKs fix for Pilarcitos Creek Bridge: Half Moon Bay officials hope project will be complete by the end of year

The 21-year-old structure just north of Francis State Beach crosses environmentally sensitive habitat that falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

On Monday, the city announced the federal agency issued the final permit needed for the project to proceed.

“This is just fabulous news for the many people in the community who continue to patiently await the reopening of the bridge,” Half Moon Bay Mayor Marina Fraser wrote in a statement. “There was really a feverish pace of recent activity among all the partners in this project to reach this point.”

She praised the efforts of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park and State Parks and Fish and Wildlife officials for working together to get the project back on track.

The only obstacle now to replacing the 400-foot-long pedestrian bridge may be the weather.

The bridge is scheduled for a year-end reopening, but city officials emphasize that weather or other unforeseen circumstances may still impact the schedule.

City officials recently authorized the off-site prefabrication of the bridge decking and were prepared to store that structure until next year if the delays continued.

Now, with the permits in hand, the city is moving forward with plans to dismantle the existing bridge decking, complete seismic retrofits on the structure and perform other on-site work, beginning in mid-September, according to a statement the city sent out Monday.

If all goes as planned, the bridge assembly with the prefabricated decking will take place subsequently, with a grand reopening thereafter.

An unexpected permitting/regulatory issue in July arose which jeopardized the project getting underway within the limited construction window mandated due to seasonal regulations for habitat protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed certain additional mitigation measures and through a great deal of repeated consultation, meetings and phone calls between the agency and the project partners, it reached an agreement with the city and State Parks and issued a biological opinion which in turn has allowed the permit to be issued, according to Monday’s statement.

“The city is committed to the utmost thoughtful and careful environmental protection during this project,” Half Moon Bay City Manager Magda González wrote in the statement. “It’s really to the great credit of the USFWS that they had the flexibility to quickly review their initial findings, visit the site and talk to the city and readily provide guidance in the appropriate level of mitigation measures to be carried out. We all share the same goals for habitat, species and environmental protection, balanced with the need to repair and replace the bridge this year — and it’s wonderful that the conclusion satisfies the needs of everyone involved.”

When the bridge was closed last year due to corrosion-based damage, Half Moon Bay officials agreed to assist State Parks by taking the lead and managing the repair project. Funding was secured, the design was completed and a contractor was brought on board.

The city urged the nearly $1 million project to be completed as the path is heavily used by visitors, school children and even workers who commute along the trail.