Riverside Bridge is back open

BEVERLY HILLS — The Riverside Bridge in Beverly Hills is officially open after being closed since mid-July. This bridge is an integral part of many residents’ commutes to work and school between Evergreen and Southfield roads.

“It is a road that gets used frequently as it’s a route to schools,” Beverly Hills Village Council President John George said. “Having that open again is taking some pressure off some of the other roads in the community, so we appreciate that being done actually ahead of schedule.”

George said the construction ran a couple of days ahead of schedule. A ribbon cutting was held Sept. 20.

In addition to being ahead of schedule, the project was also under budget. According to the Village Council meeting packet from Jan. 16, the whole project was estimated to cost $430,920, comprising an anticipated construction budget of $342,000 and an engineering budget of $88,920.

The bid the village ended up approving was $173,597. As they were working on demolishing parts of the bridge that had to go, they found additional work that they recommended doing. This ultimately added $38,000 to the final cost, still staying below budget. The final numbers for the total cost of the project are not yet in.

“The contractor that we wound up hiring was far below our estimate. So we were able to not only do the necessary structural repairs, but the aesthetic improvements all at the same time, and come in far under what we originally believed that project would cost,” George said.

The goal of this project was intended to lengthen the lifespan of the bridge by addressing damage discovered in the bridge deck.

“The project basically is just ensuring that we’re keeping that valued asset viable for years to come,” Beverly Hills Deputy Village Manager Jay Blenkhorn said.

While the bridge was closed, various improvements were made, including the replacement of the Riverside bridge deck, and repairs to the sidewalk and bridge railing. The village also repaired the bridge barrier concrete inlaid sandstone façade and installed waterproofing deck sealer.

“The village of Beverly Hills has a lot of projects going on,” Blenkhorn said. “We’ve got a ton of road resurfacing and repair projects going on. We’ve got this bridge work, and we have a ton of capital projects going on at the moment. This is just one part reflection of how much we’re trying to reinvest in the infrastructure that keeps Beverly Hills beautiful and viable into the future.”