The San Bernardino County board of supervisors recently approved a nearly $2.5 million engineering contract to build 10 new bridges on old Route 66 near Amboy and Essex, California.’
The board earlier this month awarded the contract from several bidders to Dokken Engineering of Folsom, California. According to county documents, it’s anticipated the bridges will be made of precast concrete. The engineering contract lasts through midyear 2024.
The 10 bridges that would be replaced are part of 133 bridges in the Mojave Desert that were built in 1929 or 1930 and need to be replaced.
Dozens of those bridges were damaged or destroyed during flash flooding several years ago. That road from Essex to Amboy remains closed because of damaged bridges. Instead, travelers need to access Interstate 40, then Kelbaker Road, to get to Amboy.
The county stated in its documents the bridges would be designed to handle modern weight loads and a 100-year storm event.
According to a site map of the construction work, nine of the bridges are along National Trails Highway (aka Route 66) near Amboy. The 10th lies southwest of Essex, also on that highway.
(Hat tip to Marla Bagdon; an image of a washed-out bridge on National Trails Highway, aka Route 66, by California Highway Patrol via Facebook)
Will this mean deviations from the present alignments? If so, will the old bridges be retained – as walkways, etc?
Finally!
Well, this IS good news. After so many years. Let’s hope it works out well.