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A long-awaited pedestrian and bicycle bridge connecting the Stevens Creek Trail to the Ameswell Hotel in Mountain View opened last month, providing an additional access point to the path for community members in the Moffett area.
Prior to the completion of the bridge, the closest entrance to the popular walking and biking trail was at Highway 85 and Moffett Boulevard, where there’s no sidewalk and narrow bike paths, Mountain View spokesperson Lenka Wright said. Portions of the Stevens Creek Trail that were blocked off during construction have been fully reopened.
“This additional access point to the Stevens Creek Trail provides community members coming from the east, heading into North Bayshore, a convenient and off-street pathway without having to backtrack to the trail entrance to the south,” Wright said in an email.
Work on the bridge started in May and finished recently, but the installation had been a long-time coming. The bridge was a condition of the city’s approval of the Ameswell development back in 2016. The hotel, office building and parking garage were finished before bridge construction commenced.
In previous reporting, Wright attributed the roughly nine years it took to get the bridge built to complications during the design phase of the project. The developer had to obtain different permits from the city of Mountain View, Santa Clara Valley Water and PG&E, Wright told the Voice earlier this year.
The Valley Water permit only allowed creek work to be done from May 15 to Oct. 15, Wright said. The developers adhered to this restriction and continued only non-creek work, such as planting trees, installing a gate and cleaning the site after Oct. 15. The project was formally completed on Nov. 5, but opened to the public approximately one month prior, Wright said. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Nov. 3.
The bridge promotes the city’s goal of developing a “mobility network that enhances connectivity across the city and encourages increased walking and biking,” Wright said.
Kind of a waste of valuable public funds imo. The highway 85 and Moffet Blvd crossing is a very short distance away. This seems like more of a service for the hotel.
Seems the construction was not publicly funded, see prior article: https://www.mv-voice.com/transportation/2025/07/23/mountain-view-plans-partial-closure-of-stevens-creek-trail-for-bridge-construction-next-week/
“The developer has fully funded the cost of the bridge, and the city will own the bridge once construction is complete, Wright said.”
City owning it going forward may mean future maintenance will need to be publicly funded, unless there is some provision that the hotel developer will also fund maintenance.
I will say this bridge makes it considerably more convenient for visitors staying at the hotel to get to North Bayshore offices on foot. This may result in fewer cars making that journey. Before this bridge was in place, it was effectively a 0.5 mile detour: approx. 0.25 miles to the Moffett Blvd – Hwy 85 crossing and then you have to double back. Plus you have to cross Moffett when you exit the Ameswell as there is no sidewalk on southbound side. And repeat in the evening.