San Juan Capistrano : 4-Lane Bridge Project Set to Begin Next Year

Motorists who have to brave the logjams that occur when rush-hour traffic along Camino Capistrano clogs the narrow, two-lane bridge spanning San Juan Creek will be getting some relief in the form of a four-lane bridge. But that new span won’t be completed for at least two more years, said William Murphy, San Juan Capistrano’s public works director.

Although work could get under way by January, Murphy said the new bridge won’t be completed before the summer of 1987 because the construction will take place in three phases, and county regulations prohibit construction crews from doing anything that could block the creek during flood season, from mid-October to mid-April.

But compared to the seven years that the project has been in the planning stages--with much of that time being used to secure state and federal financing--the next two years represent the project’s homestretch.

During the first phase of the construction, to begin early next year, half of the new bridge will be laid alongside the old structure. The first half of the new span will carry traffic while the old bridge is demolished. After that the new bridge will be completed.

Federal, state, county and city funding will pay for the project, which also will include widening portions of Camino Capistrano on both sides of the bridge, as well as installation of traffic signals at the intersections of Camino Capistrano and San Juan Creek Road and at the San Diego Freeway off-ramp.

The project also includes a one-way bicycle lane on the bridge and a bike-trail underpass.

Workers could merely widen the old bridge to handle additional traffic, Murphy said, but the span is beginning to show signs of age and is not certain to withstand a major storm. “Due to the age of the bridge, it would be questionable to rely on it any further,” Murphy said.