Replacement of Goleta Beach Park Bridge
Location
Sandspit Road and California Highway 217
City or County Responsible for Project
Santa Barbara County
Category
Bridge: Efficient and Sustainable Bridge Maintenance, Construction and Reconstruction Projects
Author
Eric Pearson
Santa Barbara County, Department of Public Works
4417 Cathedral Oaks Road, Santa Barbara Ca 93110
805-681-5686
Project Description
The County of Santa Barbara is pleased to provide this submittal for consideration in the Local Streets and Roads Project Awards Program. Santa Barbara Department of Public Works has in January 2018 completed a replacement bridge over the Goleta Slough at Goleta Beach Park Bridge (Br. No. 51C-058) in the County of Santa Barbara. The bridge is the only vehicle access point to Goleta Beach County Park. This beach is a region of coastline located near Goleta, California, just east of the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. A portion of the shore of Goleta Bay is managed by the County of Santa Barbara as Goleta Beach County Park. The beach itself is partly man-made as sand was spread onto existing sand spit in 1945. The beach is a seasonal habitat for migrating shorebirds including the snowy plover, an endangered species. There is a Back Bay portion called the Goleta Slough which is a channel and wetland area that is connected to the Pacific Ocean in which currents move in and out depending on the ocean tides is only a few feet above sea level The restoration of the tidal flow into and out of an adjacent wetland was established by replacing a sloping 24-inch culvert to a slough channel to the wetland with a new larger 48-inch culvert set at a lower elevation. Tidal flow into the wetland area was previously not possible. The old bridge did not meet current regulatory design standards and was structurally deficient as a result of advanced degradation within the existing bridge piles, which jeopardized the foundations of the bridge. Cracking of the piles reduced the load carrying capacity of the structure and the County was required to complete emergency repairs in 2008 just to keep the bridge open to traffic. The new bridge was funded under the Federal Highway Administration, Highway Bridge Program (HBP) in conjunction with County of Santa Barbara Road Fund. The bridge was designed by Quincy Engineering, Inc. of San Luis Obispo, California. Public Works in conjunction with Caltrans evaluated four alternative designs for the new bridge. Two alternatives included new roundabouts but involved extensive roadway grading in sensitive habitats. A third alternative included keeping the substandard bridge for pedestrian use only. The preferred design included conveying pedestrians, bicycles and motor vehicles across a single span, due to its simplicity. The new bridge has a total length of 168 feet, varies in width from 53 feet to 80 feet, and carries two 12-foot lanes of traffic with 4-foot shoulders and 1¾-foot concrete barriers. A 12-foot pedestrian/bike path and 5-foot sidewalk utilizes the east side of the bridge. The vertical profile for the new bridge is near the existing site grades, with a maximum elevation (el.) of 15 feet. For safety considerations, pedestrians have their own textured and elevated concrete walkway. A barrier concrete wall separates vehicular traffic from bicycles and pedestrians.
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