IRVINE

Every day, commuters and visitors stroll across the tracks at Irvine’s Transportation Center to catch their trains. But soon, they’ll be climbing stairs and riding elevators instead.

City officials plan to build a $2.75-million pedestrian bridge, with construction tentatively set to start in August. The structure will make boarding trains safer and increase the number of trains stopping in Irvine, they said.

Originally proposed in 1992, the project almost collapsed when funds fell short by $150,000. If the city could not come up with the money by July 1, a $2.1-million state grant would be lost.

Having collected most of the money from state and federal grants, Irvine’s planners approached the Orange County Transportation Authority to contribute the difference, a request the board approved this month.

The 65-ton steel bridge, which will span 127 feet and be 12 to 15 feet wide, is expected to open in June 2001, said M.J. Gestine, the city’s senior project manager.