The Oakmore-Leimert Bridge may collapse in the next major earthquake. It’s finally fixed

About 35 years ago, the Loma Prieta earthquake devastated large swathes of the Bay Area. In the Oakmore neighborhood of Oakland, residents began to worry about the structural integrity of the Leimert Bridge, a nearly century-old concrete and steel-bolted arch that spans Diamond Valley and Sausal Creek and was designated an Oakland city landmark in 1980.

Now, the retrofitting is expected to begin this year to stabilize the historic structure.

The city plans to spend approximately $5 million in federal and state funds and an additional $2.5 million of its own money to repair the bridge. The project is scheduled to start in July and run through January 2026.

The company responsible for the retrofit is Disney Construction, and the project will be managed and vetted by engineers from Biggs Cardosa Associates along with personnel from the Oakland Department of Transportation.

The bridge, which is 357 feet long and rises 117 feet above the creek bed, will be reinforced with carbon fiber rolls affixed to its exterior and reinforced with cement. The technology has been used in the construction of similar concrete bridges across the country.

When Federal Department of Transportation inspectors examined the Leimert Bridge in November 2020, they found deterioration in parts of the structure but determined that it still met the “minimum allowable” for daily use by cars and trucks. The bridge is used by about 7,500 cars and trucks every day.

A 2021 assessment by Biggs Cardoza was more critical in describing the condition of the bridge, calling it “functionally outdated,” and noting that the horizontal concrete beams that hold the bridge and connect with vertical piers were “undermined by the instability of the steep canyon.” Slope Surface and General Weathering.” An earlier 2018 report from Cardosa concluded that the continued deterioration of concrete was undermining the structural integrity of the bridge.

Some trails are expected to be closed, but emergency access will remain. View of the Leimert Bridge from Dimond Canyon in Oakland, Calif., June 6, 2023. Credit: Florence Middleton/The Oaklandside

The retrofit plan has been in the works for years, and city officials have been in touch with neighbors about its potential impacts.

At a public meeting in 2019, some residents were concerned that closing the bridge for an extended period of time might limit emergency responders’ access to the neighborhood because much of O’Kmore is only accessible via a series of narrow, winding streets.

Engineers told residents at the time that the bridge would remain open, at least in part, for the duration of the retrofit and would be available in an emergency. They said parts of the work will require lane closures, but likely only during peak traffic hours.

“Partial lane closures are expected during bridge deck rehabilitation work, which may extend over a period of one to two weeks,” the engineers said at the time.

The cracks on the concrete girders supporting the Oakland-Lemmert Bridge have been in place for years, making an engineering report say it is “outdated”. Credit: Florence Middleton

Project engineers said in 2019 that dust wouldn’t be much of an issue because the casing process would require “minimal” concrete removal, and debris from the retrofits wouldn’t fall into the creek bed because there would be protective coverings and scaffolding.

The underside of the Leimert Bridge is covered in decades of graffiti and murals. Some residents have asked if the city could outfit the bridge with anti-graffiti paint, but employees say that’s not possible.

Traffic safety advocates previously asked the city to consider adding a bike lane to the bridge or expanding the size of the four-foot-wide sidewalks to accommodate people with disabilities who use wheelchairs, but engineers say those changes won’t happen because they would affect the bridge’s historic designation.

The Leimert Bridge helped shape the neighborhood of Oakmore. This real estate development advertisement appeared in the Oakland Tribune on October 15, 1926. Source: California Digital Newspapers Group

Originally called the Sausal Creek Arch Bridge, the span played an important role in the development of the Oakmore neighborhood. It was built in 1926—the longest arch bridge west of the Mississippi River at the time—by the Leimert brothers’ Park Boulevard company to connect Park Boulevard to the brothers’ new real estate development east of the creek.

A Key System streetcar ran over the bridge, taking residents to and from downtown on Line 18, with a turn at Leimert Street in front of what is now Red Boy Pizza.

Park Boulevard, which was built extensively to accommodate the train, was later redesigned to include intermediate and four-car lanes, an arrangement that today speeds up drivers and, residents say, makes the road one of the most dangerous in the city to walk along.

In 2004, Caltrans added the Leimert Bridge to the Historic Bridge Repository in California, an online resource that provides structural engineers with technical guidance when performing retrofits.

In the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake, and because of its proximity to the Hayward Fault, the bridge was chosen by Caltrans for retrofitting in 1997. This design was rejected because it did not meet state and city historic preservation requirements.

Daniel Levy, a member of the Auckland Heritage Coalition, said his group had asked that the historic eight trolley that pulls over the bridge be left in place.

“I think it’s great,” he said of the bridge’s retrofit. “It’s going slower with the city, but the Big One is coming, and the sooner this is cemented, the more it will keep the connection between Oakmore and the rest of Auckland.”

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