A bridge project in West Newport that includes a parking lot and new landscaping will soon be ready for pedestrian and bicycle use and make getting to Sunset Ridge Park safer and easier.
City officials this week said the Superior Avenue pedestrian and bicycle bridge at Pacific Coast Highway is expected to open in early October. Final touches, such as lighting, installation of the bridge railing and landscaping, will be finished in the coming weeks.
Vehicles pass beneath the 210 feet long Superior Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge located at the intersection of Superior Avenue and West Coast Highway in Newport Beach on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. The bridge links a parking lot with 129 spaces to Sunset Ridge Park. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The project, designed to make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross over Superior Avenue from Sunset View Park to Sunset Ridge Park, also includes a new parking lot with nearly 70 spaces.
John Pope, the city’s spokesperson, said trees will be planted in the parking lot and in front of the retaining walls. Temporary lane closures and barriers have also been removed, and pavement striping on Superior has been added.
Before the bridge, visitors to Sunset Ridge Park, which has several ball fields and volleyball and basketball courts, had to walk across the four-lane Superior Avenue. When the park was built in 2014, the California Coastal Commission didn’t agree to a parking lot permit.
Data from the city shows the intersection is heavily used and at least 48,000 vehicles pass by PCH and Superior daily.
With the project’s completion, officials say access to the popular park will be safer and more effective. The cost of the entire project is $15.5 million, Pope said.
The bridge project concept was first proposed in 2019.
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