NEWPORT BEACH

The City Council last week approved plans to make the 69-year-old Balboa Island Bridge earthquake safe. The council also approved spending $30,000 to create plans for an additional 8-foot-wide concrete walkway.

Residents say the walkway is needed to make the bridge look better and for safety and liability reasons. The city will use federal money to retrofit the bridge, estimated to cost $500,000. Work could begin in early January, officials said, but the new, 5-foot-diameter pilings probably won’t be in place until February.

The walkway proposal will return to the council in April or May.