Hundreds turned out for the opening of the California Incline.
A day of motor-vehicle free activities allowed pedestrian and bike access up and down the new incline.
The historic stretch of road was originally completed 120 years ago the Sunset Trail..
Construction of the reopened inclined took 17 months, and cost around $20 million, with 88.5 percent paid by federal funding.
Features include:
- 16-foot-wide separated shared pedestrian/bicycle path
- Seismically upgraded and stronger bridge
- Bridge deck now sits on 96 concrete piles drilled beneath the bluff’s surface
- Bridge portion is 750 feet long
- Incline extends 1,400 feet from the intersection of Ocean and California Avenues
- New balustrades pay homage to the old barrier rail
- 1,000+ soil nails used to stabilize the bluff along the eastern edge
- The overcrossing to the north will open to the public in late September after lights and metal safety railing and hand railing are installed
“We are thrilled to welcome the new safer and stronger California Incline on the 120th anniversary of the Sunset Trail,” said Mayor Tony Vazquez. “This vital link between Santa Monica and PCH demonstrates what federal dollars can do to support significant local infrastructure.”
“Our new California Incline is not only a feat of modern engineering, it’s the fruit of great human effort, sure to be with us for some time to come,” said Curtis Castle a civil engineer with the Public Works Department. “Hundreds of individuals worked on this project day and night for 17 straight months.
