George Stahl/Special to the Sun

According to Mark Handy, Design Engineer with the County of Kern, those boulders and cobbles that you see stockpiled in the empty lot along Elizabeth Norris Rd. in Lake Isabella came out of the excavation for the new bridge being constructed over Borel Canal at Pasadena Lane to the east of the canal and connecting with Delva Dr. and Lupine St. on the west side.

Handy said, “It proved to be more feasible economically to construct two 12- foot-wide bridges than one 24-foot bridge. This will allow for two lanes of traffic if necessary for smooth emergency access to the area.” The bridges will serve as an emergency access and egress only. They will connect Erskine Creek Rd. at Kern Valley High School on Pasadena Ln. to Delva Dr. west of the canal and lead evacuees and emergency vehicles to Webb Ave. in Lake Isabella.

Bridge construction is expected to be completed by the end of March.

According to Handy a major concern to property owners along the route was that the access would turn into a thoroughfare creating a traffic problem. Since the bridges are being constructed within an SCE Right-of-Way, that concern has been belayed by the fact that both sides of the bridge will be gated and secured, used only at a time of emergency.

In the 2009- 2010 fire season, access was not easy to this area. Then came the flooding and school buses were not able to use Erskine Creek Rd. According to Handy, this access will elevate that problem in the future.

The project was actually talked about almost 10 years ago during that fire season, according to Handy. It was revisited after recent emergency access to the area was found to be hindered. The bridges are expected to be completed by the end of March and are being constructed on a budget of $850,000. Granite Construction is the contractor of record on the project.