Proposed bridge replacement benefits fish, water and people

Sandra Jacobson, George Sutherland and Bob Blankenship

Special to the Village News

The Sandia Creek Drive bridge that crosses the Santa Margarita River two miles north of Fallbrook is proposed for replacement in the next two years. This bridge is an old concrete box culvert structure that floods after big storms, blocking access for residents and trail users.

The unusual part of this story is that funding for design for a new bridge started with the fact that it's a fish passage barrier for endangered Southern California steelhead. Steelhead are a specialized form of rainbow trout that migrate...