Bridge whitening

Paul Clinton

A band of preservation-minded residents have joined hands with

Newport Beach to help restore a heavily trafficked footbridge that

has enabled residents reach the beach for 74 years.

City officials have already begun the $40,000 project, which

should be completed by the end of October.

“It’s just been a precious treasure in Corona del Mar all these

years,” Councilman Dennis O’Neil said about the bridge. “People walk

across it, drive under it and unfortunately we’ve taken it for

granted.”

The 243-foot utilitarian-style bridge, which connects two sections

of Goldenrod Avenue above Bayside Drive, was built in 1928. It has

given residents living in the neighborhoods above Ocean Avenue a

direct route to Corona del Mar State Beach.

A handful of residents who regularly use the bridge, for an early

morning walk or jog, banded together about a year ago to help restore

it.

For many years, lush geraniums grew out of planters lining rails

on both sides of the bridge; their long, green tentacles reaching

down the outer side. They were visible to cars cruising down Bayside

on the road below. But the plants, since a 1988 re-planting, have

died off or shriveled into browning stems.

Residents say they want the bridge to fit in with the rest of

Corona del Mar.

“It needs to be restored to show pride of ownership,” said Liz

Torelli, an eight-year resident of the community. “We need our bridge

to reflect the quality of the community around it.”

Members of the Corona del Mar Residents Assn. have raised about

$1,600 in private donations to help pay for the work, said B.J.

Johnson, the group’s president.

As part of the project, city workers will add new planters, a new

coat of paint, a new irrigation system, a new deck and new lighting

to illuminate it at night.

The city has already added a ramp so the bridge can be accessible

to handicap members of the community. Metal poles were also removed

from the middle of the bridge.

In addition to the private donations, O’Neil, who represents

Corona del Mar until he leaves office this fall, secured $25,000 for

the work in the city’s 2002-2003 budget, approved in July.

City officials are also preparing grant applications, hoping to

tap into federal and state money to ensure that the masonry-and-steel

bridge is earthquake safe.

The bridge is one of four in the city that is eligible for such

funds, said general services director Dave Niederhaus. Two bridges

crossing Back Bay from Jamboree Road and the Little Balboa Bridge,

over the Grand Canal, are also eligible.

The Goldenrod Footbridge, as it is formally known, is somewhat of

a relic. Its aging, wooden arches are clearly showing their age. When

the bridge was built, Bayside Drive had not been put in and the area

was known as the Pacific Gulch. The city had only 2,000 residents at

the time, compared to 77,000 now.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at [email protected].