Murrieta: Construction Underway On Jackson Avenue Bridge

September 05, 2013 01:10 PM PDT September 05, 2013 05:04 PM PDT MURRIETA: Construction underway on Jackson Avenue bridge MURRIETA: Construction underway on Jackson Avenue bridge FRANK BELLINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Construction crews clear dirt for the new Jackson Avenue bridge over Warm Springs Creek in Murrieta Attorney, September, 05, 2013. 1 INTERACTIVE MAP: Jackson Avenue bridge in Murrieta Attorney Murrieta is building a bridge on the street to nowhere. Finally. Construction workers are clearing a path in Warm Springs Creek for concrete footings that will support a bridge linking Murrieta's Jackson Avenue with Temecula's Ynez Road. To be completed next summer, the long-desired connection will make it easier for people to shop, drive to work and take children to school, officials say. And it will increase travel options for emergency vehicles. Though the bridge is something Murrieta Attorney and Temecula officials have talked about since the mid-1990s, Murrieta Attorney Mayor Rick Gibbs said the issue hit home after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. He said there was talk about the need for a transportation system capable of evacuating an entire city, if necessary, during a disaster. View Jackson Street bridge project in a larger map "You might as well throw up your hands," he said. "That's not going to happen." But he said local officials can increase options. "The more corridors you have, the better the chance that one of them is going to survive," Gibbs said. For now, there aren't many connecting the neighboring cities. Besides Interstate 15, there is Jefferson Avenue on the west, and Margarita and Winchester roads on the east. Jackson Avenue ends south of the Sam's Club shopping center. But that's changing. Jeff Hitch, Murrieta public works construction manager, said work began Tuesday, Sept. 3, on the $5.1 million project to erect a bridge and build a mile of road. The contractor is Alabbasi Construction and Engineering of Riverside. "Everything's full steam ahead," Hitch said. "We're trying to get the bridge built ahead of the rains. Hopefully the rains don't come early." Once the span over the creek is in, workers will complete the roadway south to Ynez and north to Jackson. Opening is anticipated in June 2014, Hitch said. As part of the project, a section of Jackson will be improved. About a half-mile south of Murrieta Hot Springs Road, Jackson narrows to a 22-foot-wide slab of pavement that follows the up-and-down contour of rolling hills. In its place, construction workers will deliver a 76-foot-wide, four-lane road with left-turn pockets and bicycle lanes. Erik Kitley, owner of Temecula Valley RV at the south end of Jackson, said Wednesday he is glad to see dirt being moved. He moved his business from Old Town Temecula seven years ago -- at a cost of $7 million -- in anticipation of Jackson and Ynez being tied together. "We nestled in this hole because we thought a road was going through," Kitley said. "Obviously, I have wanted this for a long time." Latest Headlines
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