San Lorenzo River Bike Bridge Solution
A crucial bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the San Lorenzo River next to the freeway is still headed for construction next summer, despite the lowest bid for the project coming in $2 million over budget at $4.3 million. Instead of scrapping the project, the Public Works Assistant Director, Chris Schneiter, worked with People Power and the city's San Lorenzo River Committee to supplant the original design with a pre-fab version that can be built within budget.
The last-minute switch required flexiblity and humility on Chris's part, as well as a huge amount of goodwill on the part of the River Committee, who backed the inevitable, despite having put hundreds of hours into the original design and interpretation for the span. While no one is happy with such a large mistake, or to see so many hours of work go down the drain, we can all take pride in the community's ability to put aside blame and disappointment in order to move forward.
The long-awaited bridge will allow pedestrians and cyclists access from one side of the river levee to the other. A link from the west end of the bridge under the freeway to Harvey West at the new Tannery complex is in the initial design stage.