The Lost Canyon Road Bridge Widening Project

The City of Santa Clarita is the third largest city in Los Angeles County, with a growing population of approximately 220,000 residents. It is located in the center of Santa Clarita Valley, approximately 35 miles northwest of the City of Los Angeles. Municipal boundaries encompass over 40 square miles of land, situated primarily on the valley floor and lower reaches of the surrounding canyons. The City is positioned within a “V” formed by two freeways, the Golden State Freeway (1-5) to the west and the Antelope Valley Freeway (SR-14) to the east. In 2016, the City marked a milestone in its Five Year Capital Improvement Plan in “Sustaining Public Infrastructure” with the completion of “The Lost Canyon Road Bridge Widening Project.” This project is also part of the City’s “Santa Clarita 2020 Plan,” which is used as a guide for the City’s major work efforts in order to best prioritize resources, achieve milestones, and continue offering quality services and facilities for Santa Clarita residents today and into the future. The Lost Canyon Road Bridge experiences high traffic due to its main access to schools, neighborhoods, and the Sand Canyon community. It is situated along Lost Canyon road, which is a two-lane residential collector road. In addition to being near a residential community, the bridge is located within 1,000 feet of two schools; Sulphur Springs Elementary School and Pinecrest Preschool. Approximately 700 elementary students, teaching staff, school administrators, and residents rely on the Lost Canyon Road Bridge to get to and from campus. At any given day when schools are in session, the bridge would absorb an average daily traffic of 1000 vehicles including school buses and delivery trucks. When originally constructed in the early 60s, the Lost Canyon Road Bridge was not designed to accommodate the population growth and vehicular traffic that would come 50 years later. As a result, from the early 60s until 2014, the bridge stood at 30 feet wide, on a two-way asphalt road surface with rusted, and rugged metal beam guard rails along each side. In 2014, the City hired a Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) bridge inspector to evaluate the bridge’s condition. A structural rating of 58 out of the maximum possible score of 100 was reported by the inspector, who identified the bridge as “Functionally Obsolete.” It was clear that the bridge needed to be improved for the safety of current and future Santa Clarita residents and visitors. It was with public safety as a top priority, that City staff began planning, designing, coordinating, and constructing the new Lost Canyon Road Bridge. Prior to the start of the construction, City staff made sure to coordinate in advanc