The North Harbor Drive Bridge will be retrofitted and reinforced with concrete support piles under the deck to protect it from possible future earthquake damage, according to city officials. The City Council gave its unanimous approval to move forward with the project Feb. 5.
Primarily funded through a state infrastructure program, the $16 million project is not expected to begin until about April, said Kris Shackelford, a project manager for the city.
“We’re going to be strengthening the foundation by putting in 180, 24-inch (diameter) piles underneath,” she said. “I wouldn’t say [the bridge] is in bad condition, but if there is a major earthquake, this would help keep the bridge a lot more stable.”
Though there will be trucks delivering the material and pouring the concrete, Shackelford said the project shouldn’t interrupt traffic on North Harbor Drive because work will be mostly occurring underneath the bridge.
She said the city has been working with the Navy Submarine Base and the Corky McMillin Cos. to determine work schedules. McMillin currently has hotels under construction at Liberty Station near the northwest corner of the channel, she said.
Community planning boards were not notified of the project because the city considers the project a safety issue and not a land-use project. She added, however, that the city plans to inform surrounding community planning boards within the next months through informational presentations.
Design firm consultant TY Lin International would design the project but a contract for actual construction has not been awarded. The city plans to send the project out for bid, she said.
Details regarding the number of trucks, delivery schedule of materials and total traffic impact is unknown because the contract has not been awarded, she said.
The North Harbor Drive Bridge is the last of nine bridges in San Diego mandated by the state for retrofit.
Others included the West Mission Bay Drive Bridge and the Voltaire Street Bridge over Nimitz Boulevard, she said.
State inspectors determined the bridges needed reinforcement after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 that shook the San Francisco Bay Area and the Northridge earthquake that rocked Los Angeles County in 1994.
State inspectors evaluate the North Harbor Drive Bridge as a routine practice every two years.
The last inspection of the North Harbor Drive Bridge in January 2006 found the bridge to be sound, though a report recommended the removal of some plants under the bridge, said Ed Cartagena, California Transportation Department representative. He added that the bridge is scheduled for another routine inspection within the next few weeks.