Fremont Avenue Bridge Replacement

Project Category: 
Streets and Roadways
Project Status: 
Completed
Project Lead: 
V. Chen
Year Adopted:
2002
Target Completion Date:
2016
Completion Date: 
May 2016

The Fremont Avenue Bridge is located on Fremont Avenue between Hazelaar Way and Miramonte Avenue, spanning over the Permanente Creek. Fremont Avenue is a principle collector urban road in the City of Los Altos. The bridge was built in 1915 and carries two lanes of traffic, one in each direction. The total curb-to-curb width is approximately 24 feet and currently no shoulders are present on the bridge. A timber sidewalk was added to the exterior on the south side of the bridge that has been out-of-service for several years. There is a separate wood structure north of the bridge, which carries bicycles and pedestrian traffic over the creek.

The bridge was determined to be functionally obsolete during an inspection by the California Department of Transportation. The main deficiency is that the lane and shoulder widths are too narrow relative to current standards and the amount of traffic the bridge carries.

Major funding for this project is provided by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans). The bridge replacement project began in July 2015 and will take approximately 180 working days to complete.

Preparation for work to begin was completed in 2014 and included canopy removal from two trees and a shrub tree, and installation of netting to prevent birds from nesting in the trees surrounding the bridge and in the bridge structure itself.

Anticipated Traffic Impacts

During construction, the Fremont Avenue Bridge will be closed with no through traffic allowed. Motorists traveling westbound on Fremont Avenue will use Grant Road as their detour route to either Foothill Expressway or Portland Avenue to access the west side of Fremont Avenue Bridge. Motorists traveling eastbound on Fremont Avenue will use Miramonte Avenue as their detour route to either Foothill Expressway or Portland Avenue to access the east side of Fremont Avenue Bridge. 

Questions about the project can be directed to the City of Los Altos Engineering Division at (650) 947-2780.

Fremont Bridge
Bird Netting
Fence
Tree
Concrete being poured
Girder being lifted into place
Girder installation
Girders installed
Status Updates

May 3, 2016: The Fremont Avenue Bridge is scheduled to reopen to local traffic on Monday, May 9. The goal is to have the bridge open as early as possible, however, it is not recommended for residents to rely on it being open in time for your Monday morning commute.

The County of Santa Clara has remaining guard rail work to complete, which effects completion of the new traffic signal on Fremont Avenue at Miramonte Avenue. The timeline as to when this work will be completed is outside the control of the City however, and we do not want to delay the opening of the bridge longer than necessary. For this reason, traffic detour signs will remain in place temporarily to keep a heavy flow of traffic from entering the Loyola Corners area before the signal lights are prepared to handle the increased traffic flow.

Once all signal work is complete, the City will announce the bridge reopening on a larger scale. A joint ribbon cutting event is being planned in conjunction with the County, as the Loyola Bridge project should be complete soon as well. Details on this event will be forthcoming.

April 1, 2016: The pedestrian bridge will be closed once again beginning Monday, April 4, 2016 and is anticipated to remain closed through the end of April. Contractors will be completing work on the planters, curb and cutter on the northwest corner of the bridge. For the safety of all pedestrians, please refrain from moving barricades and entering the construction site. This type of activity causes contractors to cease work, delaying the project schedule. Currently, there are roughly 20 working days remaining on the project. Working days exclude weekends, holidays and days when work cannot proceed due to poor weather or other unforeseen conditions. 

February 19, 2016: Following the placement of girders in December 2015, contractors installed the metal decks and re-bars to prepare the bridge deck for a concrete pour. Concrete was poured on January 22, 2016 followed by the pedestrian concrete sidewalk/overlook at the south side of the bridge. This week, contractors began installing   the storm drain system at the west side of the bridge, which will be followed by the installation of a water main and gas line by CalWater and PG&E. Due to the utility conflict at the west side of the bridge, this work is anticipated to be completed in four weeks.

Construction of the bio-planter area at the northwest corner of the bridge will also start next week. Since there is no room to provide an alternative route to pedestrians during this work, the existing wooden pedestrian bridge will be temporary closed until mid-March. Contractors are also working on installing the re-bars for the concrete barriers and a pour is scheduled for next week.

February 3, 2016: The pedestrian bridge located adjacent to the Fremont Avenue Bridge will soon be closed while work to connect the new and existing bridge infrastructure is completed. The pedestrian bridge is tentatively scheduled to be closed beginning February 16, 2016 through mid-March. 

December 10, 2015: A big milestone for the Fremont Bridge Replacement Project was completed on Monday, December 7; all six girders were successfully erected. The first girder (85 feet long) was delivered by a 110 foot-long truck to the site at around 9:50 a.m. The additional five girders were delivered within one hour and trucks were staged at the nearby Fremont/Miramonte off-ramp area.

November 25, 2015: Weather permitting, the Fremont Avenue and Miramonte Avenue exit from northbound Foothill Expressway at Loyola Corners will be closed on Monday, December 7, 2015 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Contractors will be delivering and installing several oversized girders as part of the Fremont Avenue Bridge Replacement Project. The Fremont Avenue pedestrian bridge will also be closed as girder installation takes place in order to ensure pedestrian safety. Detour signage will be in place. Slight traffic delays should be anticipated during the work hours.

November 20, 2015: The temporary creek diversion, including culverts and gravel bag cofferdams, has now been removed from the creek. The contractor has installed temporary erosion control measures including straw wattles, silt fence and hydro-seed.

The pedestrian bridge continues to be open for pedestrian and bicyclists; though cyclists are required to walk their bikes to prevent possible slips on lose gravel in the area.

Both abutments have been formed and poured, and abutment 1 and 2 has been stripped. Both abutments have been partially backfilled to about the seat elevation.

The precast girders have begun to be fabricated off site and are anticipated to be erected during the last week of November. When the girders are ready for installation, the Foothill Express Way off ramp at Miramonte Ave will be closed as well as the pedestrian bridge. The date to close the off ramp at Miramonte Ave is pending County of Santa Clara’s approval.

October 30, 2015: Construction of the westerly abutment (Abutment #1) is nearly complete. Concrete will be poured today (10/30/15) for Abutment #2. Erosion control measures have been put in place in preparation of the winter storm season.

October 19, 2015: Bridge demolition was completed in August and excavation for the two abutments followed. The temporary creek diversion, including culverts and gravel bag cofferdams, has now been removed from the creek. The erosion control measures have also been installed.

In an effort to accommodate resident requests to minimize required branch trimming of the oak tree at the northeast corner of the project area, the City worked with the project team and a certified arborist to make a design modification to the bridge abutments and developed alternative construction techniques.

During the week of October 12, 2015, contractors constructed the westerly abutment (Abutment #1) and installed temporary erosion control measures including straw wattles, silt fence and hydro seed.

For the week of October 19, 2015, the contractor will focus on constructing the easterly abutment (Abutment #2) and another concrete pour is scheduled for this Friday, October 23, 2015. After the abutments are complete, the contractor will begin back filling the abutments. 

August 6, 2015: The bridge contractor are currently scheduled to begin demolition of the bridge during the week of August 10, 2015. The existing pedestrian bridge at the North of Fremont Avenue Bridge will remain open during the construction except for some events (i.e. demolition, pile drilling, placing girders, etc…). Staff and the contractor are continually monitoring the traffic condition in the vicinity and will adjust the traffic signs as needed.

July 15, 2015: The City has received feedback from residents regarding the detour signs associated with the Fremont Avenue Bridge Replacement project and  would like to provide an update in response to resident concerns that have been expressed.

The City’s intention is to keep detour traffic on collector streets (Grant Road and Portland Avenue) and Foothill Expressway. Unfortunately, many drivers in the area are not yet accustomed to the bridge closure and are not following the detour signs that are placed far in advance of the closure. As a result, many drivers were continuing down Fremont Avenue, only to have to make a U-turn. The bridge project contractors saw this and placed an additional detour sign directing traffic down Oakhurst. This sign, while placed with good intentions, was not part of the approved traffic management plan and has since been removed.

Additional signage will be in place by the end of the week to help clarify to motorist travelling westbound on Fremont that they should take Grant Road to detour around the bridge closure. Additional signage will also be placed at Miramonte Avenue clarifying eastbound detour directions.  

Should you have any questions or concerns about this project, please do not hesitate to contact the City’s Engineering Division at (650) 947-2780. 

July 2, 2015: Beginning Monday, July 6, 2015, crews will be placing construction signs, performing construction staking, and completing preparation work for the bridge demolition. Fremont Avenue Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning Monday, July 13, 2015. All construction signs and traffic control measures will be in place prior to the closure. The existing pedestrian bridge at the North of Fremont Avenue Bridge will remain open during the construction except for some events (i.e. demolition, pile drilling, placing girders, etc.). The City will provide as much advanced noticing of pedestrian bridge closures as possible.

May 28, 2015: The Fremont Avenue Bridge Replacement Project bid was awarded to Granite Construction Company at the May 12, 2015 City Council meeting. The City is currently working with Granite Construction Co. on the project contract. Once the contract is approved, the City will issue a notice to proceed. This will give Granite Construction Co. the OK to move forward and begin construction. Once the notice to proceed has been issued, the 180 working days to complete the project will begin.

February 11, 2014: In preparation for work tentatively scheduled to begin later this year on the Fremont Avenue Bridge Replacement Project, tree trimming and other site prep-work is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 15, 2014.

The Fremont Avenue Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, February 15 from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. from Hazelaar Way to Miramonte Avenue. Traffic control measures, including light boards, will be in place beginning Wednesday, February 12 to alert drivers of the upcoming closure and to detour traffic around the closure. The current schedule is subject to change due to poor weather or other unforeseen conditions.