Repairs to Begin on Bridges, Walkways : Recovery: Three of the 11 Valencia spans have been closed because of quake damage. The $833,000 cost will be financed by FEMA, a developer and homeowners.

Repairs are scheduled to begin this week on 11 public bridges and walkways in Valencia that were damaged in the Northridge earthquake.

The cost of the repairs, estimated at $833,000, will be paid with a combination of federal earthquake recovery grants, funds from the developer who built the walkway system and fees collected from Valencia homeowners.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover $473,000 of the cost, while the Newhall Land & Farming Co. has agreed to provide $100,000 for engineering work. The remaining portion from homeowners will come from an annual fee they pay into a maintenance district fund administered by Los Angeles County.

Known as paseos, the Spanish term for public walkways, the elaborate network of paths and bridges is a signature amenity of Newhall Land’s master-planned Valencia community, begun in 1967. The paseo system, 20 miles long, includes about 20 elevated walkways and sunken street crossings.

Three of the bridges have been closed because of earthquake damage. Many others will undergo minor repairs or cosmetic improvements.

“Some of the work is earthquake repair. Some of the work is seismic strengthening for future earthquakes,” Santa Clarita city engineer Tony Nisich said. “Then the rest of it is cosmetic.”

Repairs were initially scheduled to begin in September and be completed this month. Delays occurred as Santa Clarita pursued FEMA funding and because only one construction company bid to perform the work, causing the city to extend the bidding process.

City Council members voted 5 to 0 this week to award the construction project to Parr Contracting Co. of Hawthorne.

As part of the cost-sharing deal, Santa Clarita officials have agreed to assume ownership--and therefore liability--for the bridges. The decision settled a pre-earthquake disagreement, first erupting in 1993, over who was responsible for their upkeep.

Newhall Land officials said the trails were the same as other amenities first built by a developer and then made the responsibility of those who benefit from them. City and county officials contended that because Newhall Land built them, it should maintain them.