Group leaders support 13th Street bridge project

By Karen Brainard

A bridge over the Santa Maria creek bed on 13th Street will improve town circulation, said members of the Ramona Community Planning Group (RCPG).

San Diego County Department of Public Works recently announced that it has received federal grant approval for construction of a bridge on 13th Street. The grant will also cover the cost of paving the street, which becomes a rutted dirt road north of the Ramona Library.

At the group’s Aug. 4 meeting, Secretary Kristi Mansolf said the project is good for the community as the bridge will connect the town center with the industrial area. Thirteenth Street, which becomes Maple Street, intersects with Walnut and Olive streets.

“It’s to alleviate some of the traffic problems we’re having right in the middle of our town,” said RCPG Chair Jim Piva.

Planning group Vice Chair Bob Hailey said the improved 13th Street will also help curb congestion that will occur when the Ramona Intergenerational Community Campus is built behind the library and the Palomar Pomerado Health clinic is built across the street.

The department of public works has estimated the bridge project will cost $10 million and take six years to complete. It will be paid for through the Federal Highway Administration bridge program.

“I know that some people have said the cost is exorbitant,” said Piva, “but it’s a bridge.“

“But it is a bridge to somewhere,” interjected Hailey.