The San Jose City Council has voted for a fourth time to remove the Willow Glen Trestle, a wooden railroad relic nestled at the junction of Los Gatos Creek and the expanding Three Creeks Trail, and replace it with a steel bridge.
Despite a showing of dozens of residents who support a May 6 recommendation by the Historic Landmarks Commission to nominate the trestle for historic designation and postpone demolition pending a determination, the council voted 7-2 Tuesday to go with a new bridge that has already been funded and is partially built.
The city has poured $1 million toward the new bridge and grants totalling $1.8 million could expire if the project is halted, according to Matt Cano, interim assistant director of the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department.
Completion of the Three Creeks Trail junction, which has been in the works since 2004, also weighed heavily in the decision to move forward with demolition. San Jose anticipates completing a citywide, 130-mile trail system by 2022 and is hoping to finish the new bridge by October.
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