The Fair Oaks Bridge project is gaining some support from the Sunnyvale City Council.
The council voted March 17 to certify the project’s environmental impact report and move forward on improvements for the nearly 50-year-old bridge.
The project calls for a separate pedestrian sidewalk on the east side of the bridge, widened bicycle passageways in both directions and overall structural reconstruction to remove the bridge from the Federal Highway Administration’s “Eligible Bridge List.”
Though there will not be additional lanes for vehicles, the roadway will be widened to bring the bridge up to current design standards, according to the project website.
With the certification of the EIR, the city can now move forward with an 18-month construction schedule that is slated begin sometime in spring 2016. There is still quite a bit of work to be done before the actual bridge work can commence, including working with Caltrans, acquiring rights-of-way and relocating utilities. Once these elements are completed, the city can finalize the design and begin work on the bridge, according to Jennifer Garnett, Sunnyvale’s communications officer.
The EIR analyzed environmental issues pertaining to aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, noise, geology, traffic and soils.
A main concern of some council members was if noise from nighttime construction will affect nearby apartment complexes in summer months. Councilman Dave Whittum was the only dissenter in certifying the EIR for the project because of the question of nighttime noise disrupting nearby residents.
Project managers said that nighttime construction would be kept to a minimum and that noise control and suppression technology would be used to lessen the impact.
Vice Mayor Tara Martin-Milius asked how many trees would be lost in the project. Most of the trees that will need removal are not protected and mostly serve ornamental purposes for apartments and the neighboring Home Depot, according to project staff comments.
The project would comply with city standards of planting one tree for every one removed, according to the EIR.
The project will not bring the bridge 100 percent up to ADA standards, but it will bring it much closer, according to staff accounts.
The overall cost for the project is nearly $22 million. Approximately 88 percent of funding is coming from the Highway Bridge Program and 12 percent is coming from local city funds.
According to the project website, the bridge will remain open for the most of construction, with possible closures happening during off-commute hours. The pedestrian bridge will also remain open unless construction poses a safety threat.
For more information or to view the environmental impact report, visit fairoaksbridge.com.
