Your next drive to a concert at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre or a big party at Sesame Place should be a lot better in the next few years. The city of Chula Vista kicked off construction Tuesday on a new, wider bridge that promises to decrease those painful traffic jams.
It begins with replacing a bridge that outlived its title.
“This was a temporary bridge that was installed in 1994,” smiled Chula Vista Mayor John McCann.
A temporary bridge on Heritage Road just south of the Main Street intersection was installed 30 years ago. McCann knew the bridge outlived its “temporary” status a while ago.
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“You know, the government’s definition of ‘temporary’ and my definition of ‘temporary’ are two separate things,” agreed McCann.
Thousands of vehicles travel over the bridge every day. That number jumps when there’s a concert at the amphitheater. That infamous traffic jam is too well-known.
“It was always very challenging,” the mayor said.
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“It could have been better,” city civil engineer Jose Serrato said.
Serrato helped design the new permanent six-lane bridge to replace the 30-year-old temporary two-lane structure that he says will open traffic and protect Heritage Road from floods. He said Chula Vista struggled to find the $68 million necessary to replace the bridge.
“It was the coordination with the different agencies and different funding sources,” Serrato said.
“We’re using federal bridge construction funds,” McCann explained.
The funds are secured, and construction is expected to take roughly two years to complete.
