Century-Old Quito Road Bridges Coming Down Despite Concerns

Two 100-year-old bridges at the intersection of Old Adobe Road on the Los Gatos-Saratoga border are going to be demolished despite neighbors' concerns about trees being uprooted to make way for the project and disruption of the San Tomas Aquino Creek's riparian corridor.

The Los Gatos Town Council is set to approve part of the project's cost, being covered jointly with the City of Saratoga and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, to the tune of $300,000.

A staff report by Los Gatos Parks and Public Works Director Matt Morley states the bridges are considered "substandard" and are located on the south and on the north of Old Adobe Road and that the three agencies paying for the work share responsibility for the structures that span San Tomas Aquino Creek.

Saratoga is serving as the project's lead agency securing 88.5 percent of the project construction and right-of-way acquisition cost funding through Federal Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation funds.

The remaining 11.5 percent of the project's cost is coming from local matching funds from Los Gatos, Saratoga and the water district, according to the staff report.

The two towns have been wanting to replace the bridges since October of 2000, but the work has been delayed due to challenges dealing with environmental processes, right-of-way acquisition and design issues. 

Saratoga has now secured the environmental clearances and is ready to proceed with the next steps in the right -of -way acquisition to complete the project, the report said.
The project's original design consultant is no longer in business, so a new one will be hired. The new consultant will have to adhere to Caltrans' new standards, the report stated.

The agencies expect to complete the project's design and right-of-way acquisition by 2015 and begin construction by 2016, the report stated.

TELL US: Should the bridges come down? What impacts related to this project will have to be mitigated? 

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