Photos: A Visual Look at Why the Mayor Supports Replacing Half Moon Bay's Historic Bridge

Here are some photographs that Half Moon Bay mayor Rick Kowalczyk took when he walked the bridge area the day of the City Council bridge meeting last week.  

"These photos played a role in my thinking as well," said Kowalczyk about why he and three other City Council members voted 4-1 to replace the Main Street Bridge on Sept. 17. Councilman Allan Alifano was the one supporter for a bridge restoration.

The decision to rebuild the Main Street Bridge comes after a significant amount of public input, said Kowalczyk, who outlines his personal rationale for supporting the replacement of the bridge in an article on Patch that can be read by clicking here. 

In late 2012 and early 2013, three citizen input community forums were held to provide information about the bridge’s condition and the necessity of its rehabilitation/replacement, and to solicit community involvement and receive feedback on the various issues and options available to undertake such a project.

The selection of a preferred design option is still a preliminary stage in fixing the functional and structural deficiencies in the narrow, two-lane century old bridge. The City will now turn its attention to additional preliminary design needed before the City can begin the environmental review process and seek permits from several regulatory agencies that will be needed before the actual groundbreaking can take place. 

Several public hearings and much more public outreach will be conducted during this process, which will likely take at least a year to complete.