Bolsa Chica trail gets easier with bridge

Nature enthusiasts, hikers and environmentalists will no longer have to stumble along a path, climb over a guard rail and edge away from speeding traffic to get to the trails in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands after a pedestrian land bridge is completed in October.

The bridge is nearly nine years in the making, and the dream started becoming a reality when contractors began breaking ground at Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue on Monday.

“It’s been a long time coming, and everyone has been waiting for it to happen,” said Flossie Horgan, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust.

The bridge will allow anyone to easily and safely get to the trails leading into the mesa from the north parking lot of Warner Avenue. Now, a water channel is blocking the parking lot from the trails, and anyone who wants to get to it has to follow a path to Warner, climb over the guard rail onto the street and walk across the bridge alongside passing traffic to get to the other side.

“It’s necessary for public safety and public access,” said Laurel Telfer, a Bolsa Chica Land Trust board member.

The state allotted money to the project, but there was a gap in the amount needed, Telfer said. In 2007, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust raised $75,000 in three months and other community organizations, including the Wildlife Conservation Corps, pitched together to fill the budget gap.

The project was frozen by the state until now. The bridge is slated for completion in late October, and an opening ceremony is loosely planned for December, Telfer said.

— Britney Barnes