The City of Santa Monica, California, edged closer last week to a much-delayed project to replace the bridge leading to the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
The city council approved an environmental document required for the $27 million project, reported the Santa Monica Daily Press.
The Santa Monica Pier Bridge was built in 1939 and serves as the primary transportation access for over six million visitors to the Santa Monica Pier each year. The bridge is inspected regularly and officials have determined that the bridge is structurally deficient, currently scoring as low as 8.2 out of 100 on a seismic sufficiency scale.
Aside from safety concerns, the existing bridge is not wide enough to accommodate the volume of pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles during peak periods, leading to safety concerns and traffic issues. The proposed project aims to address these deficiencies by replacing the bridge with a new structure that meets current design and seismic standards and has a projected service life of 75 years.
The city has been kicking around the idea to replace the bridge for at least a dozen years.
The project must be completed by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, with groundbreaking to begin in 2025.
The Santa Monica Pier is the home of the oft-photographed “Route 66 – End of the Trail” sign that serves as a traditional, if not actual, endpoint for many westbound Route 66 travelers. The sign, shepherded by 66-to-Cali owner Dan Rice, was installed in 2009.
The actual western endpoint of Route 66 is a few blocks east at Olympic and Lincoln boulevards. It once was a boring intersection, but that has markedly improved with the addition of a Mel’s Drive-In restaurant a few years ago.
The Santa Monica Pier first opened in 1909 — designed only to carry sewage pipes beyond the ocean’s waves. It had no amenities.
The pier began to take recognizable shape in 1916 when Carles Looff signed a 20-year lease with the city and added an amusement arcade, a rollercoaster and a carousel. La Monica Ballroom was added in 1924.
(Hat tip to California Historic Route 66 Association; image of the Santa Monica Pier sign by Wayne Hseih via Flickr)