Council to Discuss Seeking Bridge Bids
Although the city still lacks some of the easements it needs to build a footbridge across the Arroyo Simi, Moorpark officials want to start soliciting bids from construction companies to build the 161-foot span.
The City Council is scheduled to discuss at its meeting Wednesday advertising the project and seeking bids from construction firms. If the council agrees, and if other elements of the project pan out, the city could select a construction company by mid-December.
Moorpark officials have tried for years to build a bridge across the arroyo, near Liberty Bell Road.
But the project took on added urgency in January after an 11-year-old boy drowned in the arroyo during a winter storm.
Responding to citizens’ complaints that the project was taking too long, the council voted last week to offer Southern California Edison $7,700 for easements across a small strip of company land needed for the project. City and company officials had previously been unable to reach an agreement on the land.
If the company rejects the city’s offer, city officials may condemn the property.
Plans for the bridge call for a reinforced concrete structure that is about 17 feet wide, which is designed for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians.
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