Gilroy
– State transportation workers are testing soil along Hecker
Pass Highway as part of plans to relocate Uvas Creek bridge.
Gilroy – State transportation workers are testing soil along Hecker Pass Highway as part of plans to relocate Uvas Creek bridge.
The two-day project began Tuesday, just east of Bonfante Gardens off Hecker Pass Highway, and is expected to wrap up today. Construction on a second bridge is not expected to begin for another two years, after engineers with the California Department of Transportation have designed the new span.
Before that can happen, Caltrans must first test the soil and rock beneath the creek bed. That effort involves three workers operating a a 40-foot high hydraulic drill while a geotechnical engineer sorts the samples into clear plastic bags and cardboard boxes.
“We’ll design the foundation pilings based on the type of soil and rocks we find,” explained Caltrans engineer Ashok Das.
The crew had reached 30 feet of depth on a hillside by early Tuesday afternoon, he said, and they planned to drill another 40 or 50 feet to get beneath the creek bed.
Deteriorated pilings on the current bridge drove the need for relocation, though Caltrans officials say the existing span poses no immediate danger.
The agency retains final authority to perform improvements on state roads and bridges, but it allowed Gilroy leaders to choose the location of the new bridge. City officials anxious to spare 15 of the majestic Deodara cedars lining the south side of Hecker Pass Highway opted for a northern route. That choice means the loss of a greater overall number of trees and the installation of a 1,600-foot retaining wall around the intersection of Burchell Road and Hecker Pass Highway.
Caltrans rejected the possibility of repairing or reconstructing the bridge in its current site due to higher costs, extended construction time and greater disruption of traffic. Construction of a new bridge will allow a seamless transition by keeping the current span open until the new one is complete.
