Santa Clara-area residents may have noticed a crane waving over the trees near River Loop 2 and Wilkes Drive.
As part of the Santa Clara Community Park project, the City of Eugene installed a 12-foot-wide pedestrian bridge Thursday morning.
The bridge connects the south and north parts of the park, bridging over a dry channel.
The bridge will seamlessly connect the park with the West Bank trail extension and River Loop 2, according to Marina Wrensch, project manager and public works engineer for the City of Eugene. There will also be soft-surface walking trails and a bike/pedestrian path system, which will eventually link to the West Bank extension project. Once completed, the paths will also connect to Madison Middle School, located next to the park.
“All summer long, we’ve been working on the abutment, they have to cure for a certain amount of time, and they were given a go-ahead,” Wrensch said. “The bridge was fabricated off-site, and here we are. It’s exciting.”
Wrensch added that not only will the bridge be used by pedestrians, but it will also be helpful for the Eugene city maintenance crews that mow the lawns of the north and south parcels of land. Instead of having to mow one space then load up the mowers and drive all around River Loop to get to the other, they will be able to cross using the bridge. Wrensch said the team specifically planned for the bridge width and weight capacity to hold a maintenance vehicle loaded with a lawn mower.