A utility bridge over the Carmel River might be the missing link to connect the region’s trails.

What if a single, pedestrian-only bridge was a missing link that could unlock a regional network of trails? That’s the vision for the Carmel Area Wastewater District’s footbridge across the Carmel River, which dates back to the 1930s and provides employees access to CAWD’s wastewater treatment plant just south of the Carmel Mission, on the southern bank of the Carmel River, in the event that road access to the plant is cut off due to flooding.

On Thursday, July 27, the CAWD board is set discuss the project – which has been dubbed the “Bridge to Everywhere” – and consider whether to take the ministerial step of forming a standing committee to discuss the project going forward. (Currently, there’s an ad hoc committee to discuss it; a standing committee will mean public meetings on the topic.)

CAWD General Manager Barbara Buikema says getting the public involved going forward is the goal – it’s a regional project, and one she feels confident the community will welcome with open arms.

“This has so much to offer the community, especially those people who like to get out and walk,” she says. “It’s a beautiful area.”

The bridge would provide a connection between those walking on the beaches of Carmel and Carmel River, the Mission Trail and the Big Sur Land Trust’s Carmel River FREE project, which is yet to be completed but will have trails that connect to Palo Corona Regional Park.

The idea is something Buikema’s had on her mind for about 20 years, but only now is the district pushing to make it a reality. “Sometimes I think in life lightning strikes,” she says. “I don’t know why.”

One reason, perhaps, is that the district needs to retrofit the bridge. The cost of doing that – about $10 million, Buikema says – will largely have to come from grants.

“Everyone has been very positive,” she says. “If we can show this is a community-wide benefit, this will help with grant funding, and we’re optimistic.”