Ivy Street Bridge Gets Tentative Opening Date

One year and a winter of heavy rains later, a new bridge over Ivy Street in Murrieta will soon open to through traffic.

A tentative ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 11, according to Pat Thomas, City of Murrieta engineer and public works director. Thomas said the bridge is complete, save for a few finishing touches: handrails need to be installed for pedestrian traffic and there are a few remaining street lights to put in.

The bridge was designed to accommodate the Murrieta Creek project, which will deepen and widen the creek to prevent flooding once completed by the Army Corps of Engineeers, according to Thomas.

At a cost of $4.5 million, the bridge provides two lanes over the creek where a dip in the road used to be. The city used funds from a federal Highway Bridge Program grant, which was administered through the state.

Thomas figures about 500 residents will make between 5,000 and 10,000 trips over the bridge daily. That number will increase to 20,000 when the neighboring B Street bridge is torn down. The bridge is too old to repair, he said.

Ivy Street is the western extension of Los Alamos Road through Historic Downtown Murrieta.

Check back with Murrieta Patch in the coming days for updates on other city construction projects.