Half Moon Bay City Council Approves Plan to Rebuild Main Street Bridge in One Phase

At its Sept. 17 meeting, the Half Moon Bay City Council selected a one-stage replacement plan as its “preferred project” for the Main Street Bridge. Referred to as Option 2, the plan is considered to be the swiftest option with the bridge replacement occurring all in one stage. The selected option will require closure of the bridge to traffic for approximately 4 months; however, Council members asked project consultants to find a way to accommodate temporary crossings for pedestrians and limited traffic.

“At last night’s City Council meeting, we chose to rebuild the Main Street Bridge in order to provide safe passage for residents and visitors to the heart of our City,” stated Vice Mayor John Muller. “Right now, the bridge is in bad shape and we need to act. As elected representatives, it is our fundamental responsibility to provide safety to our residents. I believe this decision was based on that underlying principle.”

The decision to rebuild the Main Street Bridge comes after a significant amount of public input. 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. In addition, the City Council has committed to work with downtown merchants and residents to minimize construction impacts and to commit additional funding towards those efforts.

Read more about the City Council's decision to replace the Main Street Bridge on Patch: