Council to Vote on Bridge Replacement

The City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on a $1.8-million project to replace a two-lane bridge on Potrero Road, near Westlake Boulevard.

Nearby residents are happy something is planned to be done.

“It’s been there forever. It’s archaic,” said Joyce Wood of Simi Valley. She crosses the bridge every day to get to the Lake Sherwood development in Westlake, where she works as a secretary.

“It’s just a bad road. It’s right at a curve with a dip. Anything will be an improvement,” Wood said.

If approved, the project could start later this year and would take more than a month to complete. Federal funds would cover $946,400 of the cost. Lake Sherwood Redevelopment, which owns land near the bridge, would reimburse the city $236,500. The city’s portion would be about $399,000.

The new bridge, officials said, would be an updated model of the current one, which has a lane in each direction. The replacement would provide more stability in the event of an earthquake.

The bridge was built before today’s tough building codes were implemented, said Don Nelson, city director of public works.

“Basically, that bridge is structurally and seismically deficient,” Nelson said. “That’s not cause for alarm. It simply means it qualifies for replacement under a federal bridge replacement program.”

Nelson also said the new bridge would have an array of benefits.

“You have the Lake Sherwood area. There’s the Foxfield Riding Academy right there,” he said. “There’s road improvements that are being made by Lake Sherwood Development to have better transition to the bridge. But, in essence, it’s basically a bridge replacement project.”