Alameda Seeks Grant to Study Fixing Bay Farm's Wooden Bridge
The bridge is so worn out that bikers already have to get off and walk. A $5 million grant push could finally fund a fix.
By The Alameda Pulse
If you've biked across the wooden bridge that connects Bay Farm Island to the rest of Alameda lately, you've probably seen the signs telling you to get off your bike and walk it across. The city is now going after grant money to actually do something about that.
What's On the Sept. 1 Agenda
The City Council will consider signing off on five separate grant applications, worth $5.03 million total, to the Alameda County Transportation Commission. Each one needs its own resolution promising the city will cover any required matching funds. The five projects are:
- Paving for the West End Corridors project
- Neighborhood Greenways, phase 2
- Grand Street safety improvements, phase 3
- A feasibility study on replacing the Bay Farm Wooden Bridge
- Safety upgrades near Alameda High School
The city hasn't broken out how much of the $5.03 million would go to each individual project.
Why the Wooden Bridge Keeps Coming Up
The bridge is jointly looked after by the city and the East Bay Regional Park District, and it's been showing its age. Last year, the park district made some minor surface repairs and put up the dismount-and-walk signs so bikers wouldn't get hurt on rough planking. City staff also started talking with the park district about a mid-term fix to hold the bridge over until something more permanent gets built.
This new feasibility study is step one toward that permanent fix. It won't rebuild anything by itself. It's money to study what a real replacement would look like and cost, which is usually what has to happen before a project like this can compete for the bigger construction dollars.
Why It's Worth Watching
None of this is glamorous, but it's the kind of unglamorous work that decides whether biking to Bay Farm Island stays a hassle or gets easier. If Alameda doesn't land this grant, the wooden bridge stays in its current patched-together state for a while longer, and the dismount signs probably aren't going anywhere.
Alameda has landed similar infrastructure grants before, including for the Cross Alameda Trail's connection to the Fruitvale Bridge and the new signals going in along Central Avenue. This is the next piece of that same push to make getting around town on two wheels less of a workout.
