- City:
- Santa Monica, CA
- Site Type:
- Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works
- Started:
- 1939
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
In 1939, the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, i.e., the Public Works Administration (PWA), funded the construction of a bridge connecting Ocean and Colorado Avenues with the famous Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA.
“The bridge was constructed to alleviate traffic congestion that occurred as a result of economic development of the City, the local building boom and subsequent local population boom, and the ongoing popularity of the attractions on the Pier” (see Santa Monica Pier Bridge Replacement Project, pp. 2.7-15, 16).
The Pier Bridge is a simple reinforced concrete roadway, supported by multiple pediments, spanning the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) from bluffs to beach. It was likely built as part of a larger PCH construction project partially funded by the PWA. More information is needed about those plans.
The City of Santa Monica plans to replace the Pier Bridge between 2025 and 2027 “to provide a seismically sound and functional bridge for the residents, pier businesses, and visitors ahead of the 2028 Olympics.”
Source notes
PWA plaque on pedestal, east end of the Pier Bridge
California Highway and Public Works magazine, 1949
California Department of Transportation and the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier Bridge Replacement Project: Recirculated Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment Volume 1, May 2023.
Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on September 24, 2015.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.
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when did construction finish?