Spring Valley >> The Bailey bridge to access Spring Valley on New Long Valley Road will soon be removed and a new road paved. The decision came months after a land slide destroyed a portion of the roadway.
During the heavy rain and storms earlier this year, the only way to access Spring Valley from Highway 20 was partially destroyed, preventing residents from being able to go in to and out of the area. The county had a temporary bridge put in place to create access; however, the bridge had become less temporary than people expected.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon said he has been working with his staff to try and get the bridge removed, but the process has taken longer than he anticipated.
“If you had told me six months ago that I wouldn’t have that thing fixed by now I would have told you ‘no way,’” De Leon said. “The process, we’re discovering, with trying to get federal funds to fix things is a lot more difficult than I ever expected.”
To get the process moving more quickly, De Leon said he has put in an emergency order to allow repaving. To do so he is asking for property owners that are around the bridge for permission to enter their property and start work on creating a lane around the bridge.
This is to prevent road closures to Spring Valley as the bridge is removed and the road is repaired around it. De Leon said his plan is to build a box culvert underneath the new road to allow further landslide materials to pass underneath and not affect the new road.
Another goal is to widen the road to two lanes, so residents will not have to wait to proceed. Some other roads in the county are still on hold for repairs because county officials are waiting to hear back from federal offices for approval to fix them De Leon said.
“I don’t know if it’s just the volume, if there’s just so many other agencies around California that suffered so much damage, I just don’t know. We’re really struggling to try and get things moving,” De Leon said.
Many residents have concerns over this bridge because it is the only access point to Spring Valley and with it being the peak of fire season, they want to ensure their safety that fire engines can get over the bridge quickly and safely in case there is a fire.
De Leon said once he receives all of the rights of entry from the neighboring properties they will start construction of the bridge, which he expects to happen within the month of August and then have the two lane road paved in about a week.
