The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin today posted what essentially is a progress report on the Route 66 / Foothill Boulevard project in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., including a new overpass over the road.
The project includes a new Baker Avenue Bridge to replace an 81-year-old bridge over Foothill that was removed. The new bridge for the Pacific Electric Trail will be finished by October. A part of the old bridge will be used for a nearby roadside park.
The Bulletin also reported:
In January, the first phase of the project, which is Foothill Boulevard from San Bernardino Road to Vineyard Avenue, is expected to be complete. The first phase includes, in addition to the bridge, construction of a trailhead park – with a parking lot, historical timeline, bathrooms, pedestrian and equestrian access to the trail and a piece of the original Route 66.
Road improvements west of San Bernardino Road – which include widening the thoroughfare from two to three lanes in each direction, as well as the addition of a median, bike lanes and sidewalks – will also be complete at the start of next year.
The second phase of the project, which affects Foothill from San Bernardino Road to Grove Avenue, is currently on hold because local redevelopment funds may soon be diverted to Sacramento. Steuer said construction could start in January and be complete in July. This final phase includes widening the street at the city’s western boundary from one to two lanes each way. It will also include a median, sidewalks and bike lanes.
The entire project is scheduled to be complete by fall 2012, when Route 66-themed arches will be erected on Foothill at the western and eastern city border.
Here’s an artist’s rendering of what that refurbished section of Foothill will look like:
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Is this a different Rancho Cucamonga than the one I know? It looks NOTHING like this currently. It should be interesting to see how RC revives the mythological view of the 1950’s in its western-most stretch of 66 to match what it did to the rest of the once-fabled highway. At least this will bring some consistency to their 50’s and fins theme throughout the entirety of the city.
Should have been both the Metro Gold Light Rail Line and the Pacific Electric Bicycle and Equestrian Trail. Tearing out the rail line that built the city and replacing it with bicycles and further reinforcing the doomed automobile centered suburb is pure idiocracy. Denying the metro light rail line access to Rancho Cucamonga via Pasadena and Los Angeles will surely be the citiy’s demise as gasoline prices begin to soar. Who wants to be connected to the rest of the world anyway. At least we can ride our bicycles to Rialto.
And that “Trail Head Park” should have also been the Rancho Cucamonga Metro Gold Line Station with a medium sized sub-level parking garage. This way people could park and ride their bicycles, horses, or take the light rail line into Pasadena, Los Angeles, Hollywood, and eventually all the way to Santa Monica when the subway to the sea is finally built. But who wants those kinds of amenities. Kentucky Fried Chicken anyone…or how about some Del Taco. Mmmmm.
Interesting idea, Matt, but was that ever an MTA discussion? To my knowledge (and I may be very wrong about this), MTA only envisioned the Gold Line going as far as Claremont and connecting to Metrolink there.
Yes. It ended up being the best route choice too but was denied. NIMBYS will ruin everything…just give them time.