The City of Gilroy is searching for a consultant to provide an environmental review of a proposed bridge on 10th Street spanning Uvas Creek, although there is currently no timeline to construct the long-awaited project.
The bridge, which would be constructed where 10th Street turns into Uvas Parkway, has been on the drawing board since the Glen Loma Ranch plan was approved in 2005.
According to the development agreement, the Glen Loma developers would bear the initial project construction cost and be immediately reimbursed out of the city’s Traffic Impact Fee Fund once the bridge is complete. However, the city fund does not currently have enough money, according to city staff.
The 76-foot-wide bridge would include two lanes with sidewalks and bike lanes, being wide enough to accommodate four lanes in the future.
According to Gilroy’s 2021-2025 Capital Improvement Program, the bridge, as of late 2020, was expected to cost more than $24 million in construction and other work.
According to a request for proposals that was circulated in July, the city has allocated $300,000 for the environmental compliance work. However, there is currently no construction funding identified for the next five years, the Capital Improvement Program shows.
Proposals from consultants were due in late July, with the city council tentatively scheduled to consider a firm on Sept. 13.
Work is well underway on the next phase of Glen Loma Ranch, the largest residential project currently under construction in Gilroy.
Under construction now are 158 units of below market rate apartments and 125 townhome units, located in the area of West 10th Street and Miller and West Luchessa avenues.
Construction is also expected to start in the coming months on three more neighborhoods, totaling 155 single-family homes.
Glen Loma Ranch, located on the western end of the city, will have 17 different neighborhoods consisting of 1,643 residential units once completed, according to its specific plan.
