Published February 16th, 2011
Two Bridge Retrofits, Storm Drain, Get Go-Ahead
Cathy Dausman
http://orinda.waterware.com/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-3417/110201I2SR.pdf
A timeline for two of three bridge projects and a storm drain project was laid out during the February 1st Orinda City Council meeting. All three bridges cross San Pablo Creek. Due to environmental constraints, work in the creek is allowed only from June through October 15. Funding comes from a combination of federal, state and local monies.
Manzanita Drive Bridge (Replacement):
City staff expects to have environmental sign-off on the Manzanita Drive bridge replacement this spring; actual construction, which includes building a one-lane, temporary bridge downstream and north of the existing Manzanita Bridge, could begin in the spring of 2012 with Caltrans approval.
Miner Road (Seismic Retrofit):
Work on the Miner Road Bridge, which will include a pedestrian walkway, will not begin until 2013. The Manzanita Bridge needs to be completed before the Miner Road Bridge seismic retrofit takes place, because traffic will be redirected over the Manzanita Bridge during the Miner Road Bridge retrofit. City Engineer Janice Carey says a pedestrian bridge at Miner Road will be a separate project designed and constructed after the Miner Road Bridge project is completed.
North Lane Stormwater Mitigation Project:
Flooding in February 2004 and the New Year's storm of 2005-2006 caused property damage and destruction along North Lane at Camino Pablo, and nearly shut down the Orinda Water Treatment Plant. The plant delivers drinking water to 800,000 East Bay Municipal Utilities District customers. The proposed storm drain bypass project will put a 1,000-foot long, 60-inch diameter, reinforced concrete pipe under the length of North Lane and 320 feet of the same pipe under Camino Pablo, crossing EBMUD property to an outlet on San Pablo Creek.
Bear Creek Bridge (Seismic Retrofit):
The City Council decided to list this project as "inactive." It was deemed a low priority project, both for logistic and financial reasons. There is no direct access to Orinda residential areas via Bear Creek Bridge, and staff reports cite the City's share of the project would have been $175,000. However, the federal government may still request a refund of the approximately $30,000 grant funding previously spent on project preparation.
A staff report of all four capital projects, including maps of the affected areas, is available online at: http://orinda.waterware.com/docushare/dsweb/
Get/Document-3417/
110201I2SR.pdf.





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