One of the more complex projects in the East Valley is the Mount Vernon Viaduct Project. SBCTA is slated to replace a nearly century old bridge that spans over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail yard in San Bernardino, while providing a vital connection between north and south San Bernardino on the City’s west side. The existing bridge has a sufficiency rating of 2 out of 100 and is in urgent need of replacement. SBCTA took over the management of this project from the City of San Bernardino (City) in 2016. SBCTA then received legislative approval in 2017 to administer this project through the Design Build (DB) delivery method in order to get a firm under contract to demolish and rebuild the bridge as expeditiously as possible. Since then, staff has been working with various consultants to finalize the preliminary engineering, complete an environmental revalidation and develop a DB procurement package.
In preparation for the project and while SBCTA continues to work with the State on final funding pursuits, the SBCTA Board of Directors heard reports and took action on items including, but not limited to, the following:
These actions by the Board clear the way for this critical transportation improvement to move forward when the final funding elements are complete. In the meantime, the right-of-way team has been active in clearing the way for the project to begin. Community outreach is underway to help the neighborhoods understand the project and the steps taking place leading up to the start of construction. Ongoing outreach will proceed during construction to help the community members know what to expect during operations and how to manage their travels during the duration of construction. To learn more about the project, visit the project page at gosbcta.com/mtvernonviaduct.