UNIVERSITY CITY, Calif. -- A 40-year battle over a controversial bridge project is about to come to a head.

It is all laid out in a report from San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ office.

The report features details on why Sanders and others said the Regents Road Bridge should be built.

But many people who live in the area are not about to buy into this analysis.

It divides a community.

On one side is the older University City South, while the other side has the newer University Town Center.

Located in the middle is Rose Canyon, an open space park in the center of a growing metropolis.

"What we have here is a little slice of what San Diego the way it used to be, and it has survived,” said Linda Colley of the University City Planning Group.

Colley’s group wants to keep that “slice of San Diego.”

Earlier this month, the group voted against the bridge project and to protect the canyon for future generations.

That is an argument that many neighbors and environmental groups have been making since the late 1960s.

“Sycamore trees are one of our native streamside trees that are native to San Diego, one of our few big beautiful trees,” said Debbie Knight of Friends of Rose Canyon.

But according to the report from the mayor’s office, Sanders will recommend Tuesday the bridge be built.

A neighborhood group supporting the bridge project said it is about time.

"As development has occurred in North University City, the traffic on Genesee Avenue has become extremely heavy during peak hours of the day,” said Marica Munn of UC Connection.

The bridge would link South University Center to the UTC in the north across the canyon.

It would run parallel to the existing Genesee Bridge.

The mayor’s report said the bridge would reduce fire and ambulance response times in portions of University City.

It would improve emergency access during evacuations and improve access to the canyons for recreation purposes.

But opponents said the bridge is a political favor to developers in the area. Some said it is a payoff for years of support.

Council President Scott Peters said he has listened to arguments on both sides of the issue and is not playing political favorites.

Money collected from developers over the years will pay for the project.

The City Council will vote on the mayor’s proposal Tuesday, and if it passes it, construction could begin as early as July 2008.