106-year-old community landmark restored after being damaged by storm

By Jocelyn Maggard | SDUN Reporter

New slats cover the gaping hole that closed down the 106-year-old pedestrian bridge along Quince Street in Bankers Hill, but the bridge, which was scheduled to re-open today, is still under construction.

Repairs for the bridge began on July 25 said Rebecca Pond, assistant public information officer with the City of San Diego’s Engineering and Capital Projects Department.

Twenty feet of the trestle bridge’s deck, railing, and associated supports required repairing after being damaged by a eucalyptus tree that fell on top of it on Sun., March 20, during a windstorm, said Pond.

Worried residents who live near the bridge, which spans a chasm between residential and commercial areas from Fourth through Sixth avenues, sent a flood of e-mails to District 2 councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s office after the storm, the San Diego Union- Tribune reported.

“It’s a well-traveled bridge, and it means a lot to the residents in that area. It’s a historic structure that people have a lot of pride in … not just your run-of-the-mill bridge over some canyon,” that paper quoted Faulconer’s spokesperson, Tony Manolatos as saying.

“It’s a pretty and a little adventurous shortcut to Balboa Park,” said Bankers Hill resident Omar Zamudio, adding that he started crossing the Quince Street Bridge regularly when he discovered it.

“I’ve been wondering when it would be fixed so I can cross it again,” Zamudio said.

Before repairs on the bridge could begin, however, the city had to conduct an investigation to identify
exactly what portions of the structure had been damaged. The city then contracted the job to San Diego’s Street Division, which performs regular bridge maintenance, including securing loose deck slats and removing graffiti.

Faulconer’s office then allocated $100,000 for the repairs from the City’s Park and Recreation Department Maintenance Funds.

This is not the first time the Quince Street bridge has suffered major damage.

In 1987, the bridge was in danger of being torn down because it cost too much to repair the damages caused by dry rot and termites. Instead, the San Diego Historical Site Board voted to name it an historic site.

After an approximate $250,000 repair, the bridge reopened in 1990, rebuilt with 30 percent of its original wood.