IRVINE : Footbridge Closure Has Residents Mad

Angry residents have been flooding city offices with calls demanding to know why the city’s 14-year-old wooden footbridge on Barranca Parkway is closed, officials said.

The bridge, constructed by Irvine Co. in 1979, is a popular route for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling from neighborhoods near the city’s North Lake to the Woodbridge Village Shopping Center.

City officials said a recent routine inspection revealed that dry rot has caused the bridge supports to settle by four inches on one side.

An engineering consultant has been hired to study the damage and make a report by mid-August. City officials would not predict how long it will take to repair the structure.

The bridge, which is part of the designated county bicycle route, crosses the busy Barranca Parkway, one of Irvine’s main traffic arteries. City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. said the bridge is in no danger of collapsing onto the street below.

Bill Mavity, former president of the Woodbridge Village Assn., said he is concerned about the safety of residents who are now jaywalking across the often-crowded Barranca Parkway, rather than going the extra distance to crosswalks at a nearby intersection.

“I hope they can get it fixed and open pretty quickly,” Mavity said. “A lot of people are illegally crossing the street right now. We may be trading off one safety for another.”

The bridge was closed for about four months in 1981 after a truck hauling a container of sand failed to clear the span. The driver was ticketed for not using a truck route.

A similar bridge that crosses Alton Parkway on the south side of the city shows no sign of damage, according to city engineers.