Gutierrez Street Bridge Now Open

By edhat staff

The City of Santa Barbara held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning to celebrate the completion of the Gutierrez Street Bridge.

Located between De La Vina and Chapala Streets, city officials officially opened the street bridge to public use after a year of construction.

The $6.7 million project replaced the structurally deficient bridge with a new bridge that is designed to accommodate future creek widening by Santa Barbara County Flood Control. New lighting and landscaping were also installed.

Lisa Brabo, Executive Director of the Family Service Agency, which is located near the bridge and provides mental health and family support to thousands of City residents each year, said, “We are grateful to the City for making important improvements to the bridge to enhance safety and access to the neighborhood and our historic building.”

Granite Construction was contracted by the City for this project and started work in June 2018. The crews worked long hours to complete the work that was directly in the creek before the rains started last November. The project was funded by both the Federal Highway Bridge Program and Local funds.

The ribbon-cutting of the Gutierrez Street Bridge coincides with the beginning of the De La Guerra Street Bridge Replacement Project. Located just four blocks up Mission Creek on De La Guerra Street, between Bath and Castillo Streets, the De La Guerra Street Bridge will begin demolition and reconstruction within the next few weeks. This will be the eighth bridge replacement on Mission Creek in the last decade, and it is also funded by the Federal Highway Bridge Program and Local funds.