Central Avenue Bridge Replacement Project - Montclair Central Avenue Bridge

Project Background

The City of Montclair is partnering with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the County of San Bernardino to replace the Central Avenue Bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and State Street, which runs parallel to the railroad track on the south side. The existing bridge, constructed in 1967, is approaching the end of its service life and requires additional capacity.

Central Avenue Bridge side shot from below

Project Overview

Based on recent bridge inspection reports, the current bridge structure has a low Sufficiency Rating and is flagged as Structurally Deficient, which resulted in placing the bridge on the State’s Highway Bridge Program Eligible Bridge List. Replacing the bridge will improve the State’s infrastructure report card by addressing structural deficiencies and removing the bridge from the State’s list.

Central Avenue Bridge side shot from on top Safety is also a primary focus of the project. Since 2014, at least 19 accidents have been reported along this segment of Central Avenue. Vehicle congestion has contributed to these accidents, and has also impaired response times for emergency vehicles. No separate facilities for cyclists are currently part of Central Avenue, and a sidewalk is located only on the east side of the bridge. The project intends to address these safety concerns by widening the roadway, adding travel lanes, and by providing sidewalks and bike lanes in both directions.

The City is moving forward with the environmental and engineering design phases of the project, and is pursuing additional funding of the project. The estimated project cost is $32M. The replacement bridge will support current and future capacity needs along with addressing safety concerns and improving travel times along this important regional roadway.

Project Benefits

Reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

Improving bicyclist and pedestrian access for safe travel on the bridge with the addition of the Class II bike lane and sidewalks on both sides of the bridge.

Meeting current standards (clearance requirements) for UPRR.

Removing the structurally deficient bridge from the HBP Eligible Bridge List and addressing the safety concerns, improving the State’s infrastructure report card.