Funding for Live Oak Park Road bridge repair advances

The County of San Diego’s mid-year budget adjustments for the first quarter of 2012-13 included establishing $68,500 of appropriations for the repair of the Live Oak Park Road bridge.

The 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Dec. 4 appropriated that money into the Road Fund Detailed Work Program of the county’s Department of Public Works (DPW). The money was derived from an available fund balance.

“Live Oak Bridge needed immediate attention, and I am pleased the county was able to appropriate $68,500 in repairs,” said Supervisor Bill Horn.

The Live Oak Park Road bridge crosses the San Luis Rey tributary 160 feet south of Gum Tree Lane. It has served traffic since the 1950s and includes three corrugated metal pipe arch culverts with Portland cement concrete headwall and endwall composition. A past bridge inspection revealed a mid-span vertical deflection of 1 1/2 feet, and water leaking from one culvert to another was observed. The bridge was determined to be “structurally deficient,” which qualifies it for the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Bridge Program. That program funds up to 88.53 percent of the estimated construction cost to replace the bridge while distributing funding to the states. DPW has sent an application to replace the bridge to the California Department of Transportation. In May 2010, the Board of Supervisors approved a weight limit on the current bridge due to the structural deficiencies.

During an inspection as part of the bridge replacement planning process, DPW staff discovered that one pipe was failing and the repair became an emergency project. Budget items often include contingencies while vacancies or staff replacements often result in lower salary expenditures, and the county’s general fund had a first-quarter balance of $106.6 million.

The county also closed out the balances of two former Permanent Road Division zones in Fallbrook while transferring the remaining money to the general fund. PRD Zone No. 1001, Capra Way, was dissolved in April 2005 and had a balance of $656.28. PRD Zone No. 1007, Tumble Creek, was dissolved in March 2005 and had a balance of $3,033.87.