San Rafael, CA – With summer on the horizon bringing the warm weather required for pavement work, the Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) will soon begin its 2023 pavement preservation season. The preventative maintenance projects will address over 22 miles of roadway in unincorporated areas of Marin County.
The first project will begin this month with slurry sealant work on 11 miles of roads in the unincorporated San Rafael neighborhoods of Country Club and Bayside Acres, as well as a portion of Lucas Valley Road from Big Rock Trail to Nicasio Valley Road. DPW will work with the City of San Rafael on sealing portions of streets that cross into the city’s jurisdiction. This phase of work is expected to wrap up by the end of July.
The second project is still awaiting selection of a contractor, but the construction work is expected to begin in August. The work will address 11 miles of roadway in Inverness, Strawberry, and Woodacre, as well as a portion of Point Reyes Petaluma Road from Nicasio Valley Road to Platform Bridge Road.
The type of pavement preservation work in the second project will utilize a various rubber-based pavement preservation treatments made from recycled tires. DPW was awarded a rubberized pavement preservation grant for the project through the California Department of Resource Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). The project is expected to prevent 17,800 tires from entering landfills, and is similar to the project DPW completed in 2021.
The two projects combined will address approximately 5.2% of the 424 miles of road under the County’s jurisdiction. The selection of roads was made during the respective planning and design phases in prior fiscal years. The two projects are estimated to cost $0.6M and $1.5M, respectively. Both are covered by the County’s Road and Bridge Rehabilitation Fund, as well as Senate Bill 1.
For both projects, construction is anticipated to take place weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will require traffic control measures. This will include lane closures with up to 10-minute delays but those will only be instituted between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Residents and businesses along the impacted roads will be notified directly by the contractor in advance of the work with specific details such as dates, times and expected conditions. Residential roads may need to be closed for one work shift of up to eight hours.
Roadway signage will be in place in advance of any lane closures that will impact traffic. Drivers should always remain alert and drive slowly through the construction zone for the safety of construction crews and the travelers. Additionally, travelers need to follow all signage to avoid driving on fresh sealant, as doing so can damage vehicles and the new road material.
Preventative maintenance helps extend the lifecycle of pavement and can delay when a street needs to be repaved, avoiding expensive and disruptive rehabilitation projects. This proactive approach calls for keeping good roads in good condition, rather than having them fully deteriorate through their lifecycle.
Relative to major rehabilitation or reconstruction, there are various preservation treatments that can be applied to a road segment quickly and for a fraction of the cost, making them an inherently sustainable activity and a financially responsible option. The work often utilizes low environmental impact treatments to prolong the functionality of the pavement. Compared to major rehabilitation activities, pavement preservation requires significantly less energy and mined materials, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions over time.
Improving roadway conditions across unincorporated areas of Marin has been an ongoing commitment of the County for years and is one of the top priorities for the Board of Supervisors. Ultimately the County’s roads program is a hybrid strategy of pavement preservation, pavement rehabilitation, and road reconstruction projects. The long-term strategy is to maintain a quality road network across unincorporated Marin in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.