San Rafael, CA – The summer paving program for Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW), which is already in full swing with projects in central Marin, will now address three roads in the Strawberry neighborhood of southern Marin. The $1.88 million project is scheduled to begin the first week of September and is expected to be completed by the end of November.
Deteriorated pavement on a few Strawberry streets will be rehabilitated soon. A total of 1.06 miles of roadway will be repaved on Milland Drive, Carlotta Circle and Belvedere Drive, all in the Strawberry area. The work on Milland Drive will be from Seminary Drive to the end; Carlotta Circle from Reed Boulevard back around to Reed Boulevard; and Belvedere Drive from Reed Boulevard to East Strawberry Drive.
Beyond repaving, the three roads will receive sidewalk improvements, accessibility features, bicycle safety upgrades, updated traffic striping and signage, improved drainage infrastructure, and a radar speed feedback sign. On Milland Drive, DPW will incorporate paving mats under the new surface, which increases the strength and longevity of the new pavement. Ricardo Road, also in Strawberry, will have drainage improvements installed as part of the overall project.
Construction will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The work will require temporary periods of single-lane access, during which the traffic flow will be controlled by flaggers. Toward the end of the project, intermittent road closures might be required to finalize the paving.
The paving of Belvedere Drive will use Cold In-Place Recycling technology, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional paving practices, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent. The process also costs less since the entire process occurs efficiently onsite, requiring less truck activity, labor hours and aggregate materials. The method involves grinding and milling the top several inches of old pavement, and then mixing the reclaimed material with a recycling agent. The recycled material is then placed back on the roadway, where it is compressed and sealed.
The improvement project will be covered by the County’s Road and Bridge Rehabilitation Fund, which has been strengthened by California Senate Bill 1 (SB1) funding. The County’s road improvement program received $1.38 million for the 2018 work season, and looks to receive approximately $4.1 million annually once the bill ramps up in the next couple years. The increase in funding makes it possible to address projects, such as the one in Strawberry, earlier than normally possible. By more efficiently curtailing deterioration of the County-maintained roads, DPW will save money in the long run by minimizing the need for more expensive rehabilitation projects.
Improving the conditions of roadways across unincorporated areas of Marin is an ongoing commitment for the County. In 2014, the Board of Supervisors initiated a $48 million, six-year plan called the Road and Bridge Rehabilitation Program. Under the initiative, DPW is working toward resurfacing 31 percent of its most-used roads before 2020.
Which roads get addressed during any given paving season is based on an ongoing list that is prioritized by a complex variety of factors. Some of the categories taken into consideration are the particular year’s funding allotment, permit availability, scheduling requirements, coordination with other projects and/or agencies, and each roadway’s pavement condition score. Each year, DPW aims to improve a balance of local, arterial and collector roads.