TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Bob Moehling, Public Works Director
PREPARED BY: Jeff Hitch, City Engineer
SUBJECT:
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Finding that Emergency Conditions Persist in Connection with the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek
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RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt Resolution No. 25-4847 entitled: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Murrieta, California, Declaring that Emergency Conditions Persist in Connection with the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On June 20, 2023, the City Council authorized an on-call consulting services Agreement with Michael Baker Internation, Inc. for civil engineering services (Vote: 4-0).
On June 4, 2024, the City Council approved Resolution No. 24-4745, approving the Capital Improvement Plan Budget for Fiscal Year 2024/25, and the Fiscal Year 2024/25 to 2028/29 Capital Improvement Plan (Vote 5-0).
On March 18, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-4816, declaring an emergency condition for the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek, authorizing a purchase order for Michael Baker International in the amount of $89,580.92, and amending the Capital Improvement Plan budget to create the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek Project CIP No. 11004 and appropriate $725,000 of Area Drainage Fees (Vote: 5-0).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Plan, program and create infrastructure development.
BACKGROUND
On February 6, 2025, staff encountered a pothole in the deck of the Hayes Avenue Bridge crossing Miller Canyon Creek, located generally between Ivy Street and B Street. Upon this discovery, Engineering staff believed the bridge could be unsafe and closed the bridge until further evaluation could be completed.
Michael Baker International (MBI) was contracted using the City of Murrieta’s (City) existing on-call agreement to perform a structural evaluation of the bridge. The evaluation was performed, and a report was generated and provided to the City. The report concluded that the bridge is structurally deficient for fire truck access and needs to be replaced. The bridge has a span that is 15-feet long, is 24-feet wide, and has concrete abutments with wooden girders and decking covered with asphalt concrete. MBI subsequently provided the City with a proposal to provide environmental and engineering services for engineering plans and emergency environmental permits necessary to replace the bridge with an alternate reinforced concrete box culvert. Environmental and engineering design has since been completed, and the permit documents are ready to be submitted once a contractor is ready to commence work.
The adoption of an emergency declaration on March 18, 2025, allowed for emergency permitting as well as foregoing the normal public works bidding requirements pursuant to Public Contract Code. Staff is negotiating a scope and fee with contractors to perform the construction. Staff hopes to be able to ask the City Council to award a construction contract at its July 1, 2025 meeting. The scope of work will consist of removing the existing bridge structure, minor grading, and construction of a cast-in-place Reinforced Concrete Box (RCB), concrete wingwalls, rip rap energy dissipators, new pavement section over the RCB, and guardrail. Construction is anticipated to commence within two weeks of award and take three to four weeks to complete.
The emergency conditions will remain until the bridge has been repaired. Under the California Public Contract Code, the City Council is required to periodically review whether the emergency conditions have abated and/or continue as well as to adopt a resolution by a four-fifths vote to confirm the continuation of the emergency or to declare the emergency to be concluded.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. 25-4847
2. Vicinity Map