The Mission Valley River Trail Bridge Is on the Map. Where It Lands Isn't.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
The San Diego River Park Foundation describes a nine-mile path along the river from Snapdragon Stadium to the ocean at Ocean Beach. It calls this stretch the "Western 9." Riding west from SDSU Mission Valley, you can follow the river for long stretches. Then, near the little-league fields at Sefton Field, the path on your side of the water stops. Another path sits across the river, but you can't get to it without leaving the river corridor.
A bridge to close that gap has shown up in public planning documents for more than a decade. It now has a dollar estimate, a regional priority listing, and a delivery window. It still has no agreed landing point on the north bank, and it stays unbuilt while that question is open.
The Foundation calls the proposed West Valley Crossing, Project AT052, the "single most crucial barrier" to a continuous, safe San Diego River Trail. It also says the project is currently "stuck in neutral."
In a December 26, 2025 post on the Foundation's site, SDRPF intern Eva Christy described riding from Ocean Beach toward I-5 on a green river path "only for that path to end abruptly." The path on the far bank, she wrote, can only be reached by "riding along high-speed, dangerous streets with no bicycle infrastructure." The bridge would connect the south side of the river at Sefton, near the little-league fields, to more miles of path on the north side.
The gap is old. The City's San Diego River Park Master Plan, adopted May 20, 2013, described a south-bank path from Mission Valley Preserve to Sefton Field. It also noted no river path east of Sefton until Fashion Valley Road. The 2019 Mission Valley Community Plan listed the Sefton-to-Fashion-Valley segment as one still to be finished.
Two public documents describe the bridge, and they don't put its north end in the same place.
| City of San Diego | SANDAG | |
|---|---|---|
| Project name | S24004, West Valley River Crossing | AT052, San Diego River Trail bridge connection |
| South end | Sefton Field | Sefton Field |
| North end | Friars Road | Mission Valley YMCA |
| Money | $2 million in the FY 2024 adopted budget | $8 million estimated cost, in 2024 dollars |
| Timing | 2024–2028 project duration | 2035 plan phase |
| Document date | Fiscal Year 2024 | Plan adopted Dec. 12, 2025 |
The City's project description expected preliminary engineering to wrap up in FY 2024. Design and construction timing would be set after that. The 2024–2028 window in that table comes from that early schedule. It's a starting estimate, not a current forecast.
The Foundation's own map puts the question plainly. Under its concept drawing, the page says the map "depicts a general concept of the West Valley River Crossing. The actual alignment, and design is still being determined." So the City and SANDAG agree on where the bridge starts, but nobody has decided where it ends.
The 2025 Regional Plan groups projects by phase year. A project in the 2035 phase is expected to be in service sometime between 2026 and 2035. That's a ten-year window that opened this year. It doesn't promise a construction date, and it doesn't push the bridge off to the mid-2030s either.
The next line in the same appendix matters too. AT054 is another San Diego River Trail project, covering I-805 to Fenton Parkway. It's estimated at $7 million and also sits in the 2035 phase. The regional plan files AT054 under its Early Action Program as Tier 1. AT052, the Sefton bridge, is listed as Tier 2. The east end of the valley has a trail gap of its own, and a continuous Western 9 needs both closed.
The Foundation calls getting AT052 into the plan a confirmed "priority project" status that "gives us the policy foundation for moving forward." Its December post reports that several councilmembers gave the crossing their top endorsement at a SANDAG Transportation Committee meeting during the fall 2025 advocacy push.
Where the bridge lands on the north bank decides what it connects to. The Foundation's December post says a finished crossing would let riders reach "the upcoming Riverwalk Trolley Station on the MTS Green Line." Riders could also continue along the Fashion Valley segment of the river path. The Foundation's project page calls the link "vital for connecting thousands to the MTS Green Line Trolley."
The neighborhood on that north side is being built now. In an October 28, 2025 update, the Riverwalk developer said phase-one construction was underway. Phase one includes 721 homes, 75,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail, a village green and a new Green Line station. The grand opening was projected for spring 2029. A July 2025 update described The Becker, an affordable housing project going up beside the River Trail near the future trolley stop, with completion slated for mid-2027.
Those dates fall inside SANDAG's 2026–2035 window, but nothing ties them together. The new station and new homes could open well before anyone can walk from Sefton Field to them along the river.
The south end is getting planned on its own track. The City's Sefton Field improvements page lists a pathway connection to the future crossing as a possible park improvement. It gave Fall 2025 as the anticipated completion date for the park's General Development Plan amendment. In other words, Sefton Field is preparing for a bridge whose other end isn't settled yet.
The next step is a study. The Foundation reports that the City Council voted unanimously, and Mayor Todd Gloria approved, to include funding in the City's annual budget to launch an Engineering & Design Study for the crossing. It credits more than 300 community voices, its River Trail Action Crew volunteers, the West Valley Crossing Alliance, and Council President Joe LaCava. An engineering and design study is the kind of work that settles an alignment. Until it's done, the question of Friars Road versus the YMCA stays open.
Funding requests are still going in. A City Mobility Board letter dated January 7, 2026, lists S24004 among the projects it asked the City to fund for FY 2027. A board letter is a recommendation. It isn't an appropriation.
Advocates are also getting organized. On Wednesday, October 14, the San Diego River Coalition held a kickoff in Mission Valley for a new Urban Trail Alliance. Its stated goal is to speed up river trail connection projects from Snapdragon/SDSU Mission Valley to Ocean Beach. The Foundation says River Trail Action Crew volunteers rode more than 850 miles in the first half of 2026 while looking after urban trail sections.
The trail people can use today keeps getting busier. SDSU's River Park loop is open: a two-mile hike-and-bike route that includes a section of the Ben and Nikki Clay San Diego River Trail. Farther west, the Foundation runs Grant Park, a 17-acre property in the middle of Mission Valley with the river running through it. Its River Studio is the base for the Foundation's education programs, and the site has limited opening hours.
The Foundation's event calendar still has October dates coming up:
Times and meeting points are on the Foundation's Walks, Talks & Events page. Volunteer shifts, including the stewardship crews that keep the urban trail sections in shape, are listed on its volunteer portal.
The full map of the Western 9, the concept drawing of the West Valley Crossing, and the Foundation's updates on the bridge are on its Connect the Trail page. The current regional project list is in SANDAG's 2025 Regional Plan.
If you're keeping an eye on the River Trail and the new Riverwalk station because a move within Mission Valley, or out of it, is on your horizon, I'm happy to talk through how projects like these fit into your plans. Mariko Tortolero works with Mission Valley neighbors in English, Japanese, and Spanish. Let's Connect.
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