Newell Road Bridge Replacement Construction Start Celebration

Join Palo Alto and East Palo Alto City Officials, Caltrans, Valley Water, and other regional partners to recognize the start of construction of the Newell Road Bridge Replacement Project. The event will include remarks by City officials, photo/video opportunities and viewing a new 3D rendering of the new bridge.

The Newell Road Bridge construction team has begun mobilizing at the bridge with work starting on May 18 on the bridge and work in the creek starting on June 1. The bridge will be closed to vehicles as of May 18, with access continuing for bikes and pedestrians through the afternoon on Friday, May 22, with a full bridge closure anticipated to follow on Friday evening.

The contractor has been providing submittals including traffic control, storm water pollution and prevention plans and project schedules for review and approval by the appropriate permitting agencies for several months to ensure construction start during their compressed work window during June through the beginning of the rain season.

After years of design, permitting, and community engagement, the advancement of the long-anticipated Newell Road Bridge replacement is the first step in the San Francisquito Creek Reach 2 flood protection project. The 18-month $16.12 million construction project is funded primarily by the Highway Bridge Program.

Constructed in 1911, Newell Road Bridge is a 76-foot long, reinforced concrete girder structure spanning 22 feet in width and measuring 18 feet curb to curb. The California Department of Transportation inspected the bridge on multiple occasions and deemed it functionally obsolete, and added the bridge to the Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) in 2011. The replacement bridge will include two 10-feet vehicular lanes, two 4-foot shoulders, and two pedestrian sidewalks and crosswalks.