Freedom Bridge Removal Project

from Councilmember Watanabe via Nextdoor (formatting ours):

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As a follow-up, here is the response I have received from the City Manager: Council:

In the past, staff has informed Council about the ongoing issues with Freedom Bridge which is owned by Intel. As a reminder, the bridge was installed by Intel as a temporary structure related to construction activity for their office buildings in the late 1990’s. Because the structure was not constructed or permitted as a permanent facility, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) sought to have it removed. (Additional details on the history is at the bottom of this email)

Work to remove the bridge is now planned to occur on September 1 - September 25. Valley Water and Intel have arranged for Valley Water to undertake the removal project. Notices regarding the bridge removal project were posted this week by Valley Water. See the attached image.

The project includes the removal of Intel’s pedestrian/bicycle bridge and rehabilitating a portions of the San Tomas Aquino Creek Levee. As a result of this project, a section of the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail (between Highway 101 and Mission College Boulevard) will be temporarily closed September 1-25. During the trail closure detours will be in place to reroute users around the project to Scott Boulevard, Bowers Avenue/Great America Parkway, Mission College Boulevard and Agnew Road as shown in the map below. Shree Dharasker is the Valley Water contact for the project sdharasker@valleywater.org or (408) 630-3037, and Valley Water also has a project website at https://www.valleywater.org/accordion/freedom-bridge-removal-project.

Additional Background on Freedom Bridge

Freedom Bridge is located approximately 1,000 feet south of Mission College Boulevard.
Constructed in the late 1990’s as a private temporary bridge to facilitate the construction of the Intel Campus at 2200 Mission College Boulevard.
Bridge was permitted by Valley Water and Intel and Valley Water also entered into a lease agreement.
The City had no role in permitting the bridge, construction or ownership of the bridge as it is located in Valley Water’s jurisdiction.
Although the bridge is private, trail users utilize the bridge for access to the Intel campus.
On November 16, 2018, Valley Water informed Intel that bridge should be removed and adjacent levee restored.  Reasons for removal are that the bridge:
* is not ADA compliant
* is not fully available for public use (Intel was not amenable to providing public access through their property)
* is structurally deficient
* could exacerbate flooding
* Intel expressed a desire not to upgrade the bridge.
On August 27, 2019, Council approves a City BPAC request for the City to send a letter a to Valley Water for Preservation of Freedom Bridge. (Letter sent September 2019).
Despite the City’s letter, Valley Water did not change their position on the need to remove the bridge.
In May 2022, Council was notified that bridge removal was imminent.
On August 25, 2022, Valley Water approved the Freedom Bridge Removal Project and Final Mitigated Negative Declaration.
The City has issued standard encroachment permits to the contractor (Skanska) to facilitate removal of the bridge (traffic control, trail closure, etc).

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