Congresswoman Luz Rivas presented a check for $850,000 in federal funding for the Pacoima Wash Bridge Mitigation Project, which will help improve the safety and security of six bridges that cross the Pacoima Wash.
“For decades, people have crossed the Pacoima Wash to get to work, go to school and run errands. The funding I secured will make the necessary repairs and upgrades to reduce fire and safety hazards so people can continue safely crossing the Pacoima Wash for years to come,” said Rivas, who represents the Northeast San Fernando Valley.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Imelda Padilla represents several communities that the Pacoima Wash runs through or borders, including Arleta, North Hills, Panorama City and Van Nuys.
“This was an issue that had been brought up to my office since I first got here, that it wasn’t safe, that these continued to get broken and that it was creating a situation where folks were living underneath and it just didn’t feel safe anymore,” explained Padilla, who was elected in 2023.
The new funding will be used to install anchored steel plate enclosures, for repairs to steel girders and to upgrade fencing to help improve public safety and reduce fire and health hazards.
“This investment will make a real difference by helping us address serious safety hazards, protect critical infrastructure and create safer conditions for residents, pedestrians and our unhoused neighbors,” added Padilla.
While she was serving in the California State Assembly, Rivas helped fund a previous Pacoima Wash project in 2022, when she secured $7.5 million to construct a pedestrian bridge in honor of Elias “Eli” Rodriguez. The 14 year old was swept away by the Pacoima Wash in early 2017, though it’s unclear how he fell in. It was suspected that during a storm, he may have attempted to take a short cut through the wash to reach his grandparents’ home.
Eli and other students often used the wash to get back and forth to school as there wasn’t a sufficient bridge. Days later, after the heavy rain had stopped, relatives found his body miles away in the LA River near Los Feliz.
The new $850,000 funding for the Pacoima Wash Bridge Mitigation Project is part of nearly $15 million in federal funding that Rivas has secured for her district during the current fiscal year.