GROVER BEACH, CA – In recent weeks, the Grover Beach City Council has taken action to advance two street rehabilitation and repair projects with a combined 38 blocks. One project has moved into the construction phase and will address 16 city blocks (CIP 2295-11), and the other is in the design phase and will cover 22 blocks (CIP 2295-10). Both projects are funded primarily by Grover Beach’s Measure K-14 approved by voters in 2014 to provide up to $48 million in bond funding to repair local residential streets. Street repairs continue to be a priority for the City under the Council’s Major City Goal of “Street and Other Capital Improvements.”
On October 19th, the Council approved a contract to move forward with a $1.85 million agreement with Souza Construction to complete the next round of Measure K-14 Street Rehabilitation and Repair projects, referred to as CIP 2295-11. Beginning in November, construction crews will be working to repair a total of 16 city blocks on North and South 14th Street (nine blocks), North 8th Street (five blocks) and South 9th Street (two blocks). Additional construction-related information will be released closer to the start of the work. This project also includes sidewalk infill on 14th Street at the Council’s direction to improve pedestrian accessibility.
While this construction work is ongoing, the City will also be working with Rick Engineering on the design for a 22-block project on streets surrounding Grover Beach Elementary School, also referred to as CIP 2295-10. This professional design services firm was selected at the October 5th Council Meeting. Construction is planned for next spring and will include five blocks of Seabright Avenue, eight blocks of Trouville Avenue, five blocks of Manhattan Avenue, two blocks of South 11th Street and two blocks of 10th Street. This upcoming work follows a total of 40 blocks that have recently been repaired over the past year including:
• Newport Avenue between North Oak Park Boulevard and North 4th Street.
• Parkview Avenue, between Front Street and North 4th Street, Becket Avenue, in its entirety, North 1st Street, between Atlantic City Avenue and Oceanview Avenue, North 2nd Street, between Brighton Avenue and Newport Avenue, and Atlantic City Avenue, between Front Street and North 8th Street.
• South 16th Street, between West Grand Avenue and The Pike.
Beyond these upcoming street projects, the Council has also identified another 54 blocks of local residential street projects to address within the next few years and asked staff to bring back information on additional improvements on streets in the northern part of the city including Nacimiento Avenue. Since Grover Beach voters approved Measure K-14 in 2014, the City has completed maintenance and repair for over 200 city blocks or approximately 50% of the local streets identified as part of the program. These improvements have raised the City’s average pavement condition index (PCI) rating for local streets from 39 to 52 in just four years. A comprehensive map with completed, in progress and future street projects can be viewed here.
While the Measure K-14 program has been successful in repairing local residential streets, there is insufficient funding to cover additional repairs needed for streets that have higher traffic volumes and that are more regional in nature. Three major streets – West Grand Avenue, South Oak Park Boulevard and North 4th Street — have been identified as projects in need of funding and are currently in the design phase. The total cost of repairing these major streets in the City is over $10 million and additional funding is needed to provide these improvements for the community.
“Street improvements are a long-standing priority in Grover Beach and we are making significant progress,” said Matthew Bronson, Grover Beach City Manager. “The Council has identified nearly 100 blocks of improvements to local residential streets in the next few years and our staff is working hard to deliver on this expectation for our community.”
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