New bike, pedestrian & railroad overcrossing bridge open in Castroville

UPDATE 5/31/2018 5:35 p.m.: A long-awaited pedestrian and cyclist safety project in North Monterey County is up and running. The Castroville Bicycle/Pedestrian/Railroad Overcrossing Bridge has been years in the making.

The entire bridge and walkway is about a third of a mile and links North Monterey County High School and the Moro Cojo Development to downtown Castroville. Cyclists say that area has been dicey for them.

“We actually would switch between riding on the highway (156), which was scary and dangerous versus just taking the side road underneath and over the railroad tracks and walking through the mud and the dirt and the gravel,” said Mark Kaufmann, president of the Velo Club Monterey.

It’s not just cyclists that benefit but students who walk or bike to school. The $10.6 million pathway makes it safer for them, so they no longer have to dodge trains.

“All of our kids, no matter what community we’re living in, should have safe passage and so they have the same opportunities of other kids,” said Monterey County Supervisor John Phillips. “It’s huge for us.”

In addition to the bridge, there’s a crosswalk with flashing beacons for people to cross the very busy Castroville Boulevard.

This project has been years in the works, dating back to the previous District 2 supervisor, and has had its share of challenges.

“It happened before we had our Measure X program and so there’s a combination of different kinds of state money that the county competed for in order to fully fund the project and then there’s the challenge of building this project over an active rail line,” said Debbie Hale, executive director of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County.

And now that it’s completed, the pathway can open up the area to more foot and bicycle traffic.

“I think there’s a lot of recreational cyclists who have been fearful of coming out this way even though it’s beautiful riding,” Kaufmann said. “Now because of the safety issue, people will be much more likely to come out here and ride in the beautiful places of Castroville and North County.”

ORIGINAL POST: A new bridge designed to provide a safer route to school for students in Castroville is now open.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday to celebrate the opening of the Castroville Bicycle/Pedestrian and Railroad Overcrossing Bridge.

Construction on the $10.6 million project started in 2016.

“It was designed to create safe and healthy routes for students to walk or ride bikes to and from school safely. Currently, students who walk or bicycle from Castroville often go up and over an active railroad track, along a farm field, and then cross over a busy section of Castroville Boulevard to reach the existing bicycle/pedestrian path along Castroville Boulevard to get to their school,” said Monterey County officials.

The new bridge is a bike and pedestrian bridge crossing over the railroad tracks and a new bicycle/pedestrian path parallel to Highway 156.

“The bridge will provide students a much safer route to school and connect downtown Castroville to Elkhorn Elementary School and North Monterey County High School,” said Teresa Wright, TAMC.

KION’s Mariana Hicks will have the full story on News Channel 5,46 at 5 and 6 p.m.