Pedestrian/bike bridge over Highway 4 opens
The multispan bridge closes gap in the trail that was created by highway's expansion
Dozens of pedestrians and cyclists marked the opening of a new bridge over Highway 4 in Brentwood by making the inaugural journey across the 850-foot-long span Wednesday morning.
The new, nearly $14 million multispan structure, which broke ground almost two years ago, will close the gap in the Mokelumne Trail that was created when Highway 4 was expanded more than 20 years ago.
“This is a really important day,” said Tim Haile, executive director of Contra Costa Transportation Authority. “It's been a really long time coming in. This has been a gap in the network for quite some time.”
For nearly two decades, Highway 4 cut right through the Mokelumne Trail in Brentwood, blocking access and forcing pedestrians and cyclists to take a long detour on busy Lone Tree
Way to continue on the path into Antioch.
Cyclist Jerry Post, one of a dozen or so members of Delta Pedalers at the ceremony, was happy to see the new trail and eager to ride across it as he waited for authorities to cut the ribbon.
“It's gonna make it a lot safer to get from Brentwood over to Antioch because riding a bike underneath the freeway — well, cars don't care about cyclists,” the 69-year-old Brentwood resident said. “So you're kind of dodging cars and fighting the cars all the time if you gotta cross underneath the freeway … it's brutal.”
Cyclist Stacey Keller-Moore, 65, agreed.
“A lot of us have to use Lone Tree (Way) and kill ourselves,” Keller-Moore said. “We are so thrilled to have this.”
Contra Costa Transportation Authority Board Chair Newell Arnerich, a Danville councilmember, credited former Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor with advocating for the bridge. Others did the same.
“We would not be here today if it wasn't for the advocacy of this man,” he told the large crowd gathered. “And literally,