City to Widen, Fortify Spring Road Bridge

Moorpark plans to build a wider, stronger Spring Road Bridge that would give Peach Hills residents easy access to the city’s downtown.

The City Council on Wednesday authorized the Community Development Department to seek bids for the project. The bids should be presented to the council in March.

The project, with an estimated $2.2-million price tag, would create a bridge that is up to current state traffic standards, said Ken Gilbert, director of community development.

“It’s difficult to walk on a 2-foot-wide sidewalk without getting hit by a car or falling off the bridge, and there’s no room for bicycles,” Gilbert said of the current bridge, which is 20 feet wide.

The new bridge would be 50 feet wide and have room for bike lanes, sidewalks on both sides and a raised median.

The bridge would also have one solid wall underneath it, rather than a series of poles so trees and other debris won’t get stuck between the poles as has occurred during flooding of the Arroyo Simi.

The plan would require Spring Road to be closed for seven or eight months during construction, Gilbert estimated.

Instead of taking Spring Road from Peach Hills, residents would have to take Science Drive, which is currently under construction. City officials expect the road, which will link Tierra Rejada Road with New Los Angeles Avenue, to be finished by spring.