The project that has been in the works for years, the construction of the Ofelia Bringas Memorial Bridge, has begun. Crews are creating a temporary bypass road around the area where a new bridge will eventually span across the Whitewater Wash on Cathedral Canyon Drive. The bypass road will allow continuous flow of traffic while the bridge is being built.
Ames Construction, Inc. has been awarded the contract to build the new 650 foot-long, 4-lane all-weather bridge with a bike lane and a sidewalk on the west side and a CV Link trail on the east side that will accommodate pedestrians, bicycles and Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs). The project will improve safety and accessibility, traffic flow, and reliability of goods movement, especially during flash flooding.
In order to protect the bridge during a flash flood, the design also provides for a 10-foot drop structure upstream and concrete channel lining under the bridge structure itself. Best of all, the bridge will be built in accordance to the latest seismic code requirements. The project will take approximately 18 months to complete.
