Continuing a long trend of investments in the Grover Beach community, the City is abuzz with a variety of capital improvement projects to continue improving the quality of life in Grover Beach. The Fiscal Year 2021-22 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes $13 million for 22 proposed projects in the new fiscal year, which is the City’s largest ever single year of capital projects to improve public infrastructure in Grover Beach.
“Our capital projects reflect the City Council’s goals to identify and advance community priorities that our residents and business expect,” said Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee. “We are excited to see so many projects coming forward which will have immediate benefits to our community.”
The City’s Public Works Department is managing a wide range of large projects spanning street improvements, pedestrian amenities and water and sewer line repairs. Projects currently in progress or that will be starting soon include:
- Street sign replacements: The City is in the process of replacing over 600 street signs throughout the community. The new signs are more reflective and easier to read than the existing decades-old signs which will improve safety and accessibility. Existing signs are available for sale, with proceeds going to community beautification projects including flowers, trees and public art. To inquire about purchasing a sign, contact PublicWorks@GroverBeach.org or (805) 473-4530.
- Street repairs: As part of the City’s ongoing Measure K-14 Street Rehabilitation Program, a new set of street repairs and repaving is underway spanning nine total street sections. A full map of streets included in this project is available on the City’s website.
- Water and sewer line repairs: When residents see crews working on their streets, it may actually be a project involving water and sewer lines — critical infrastructure that operates behind the scenes.
- The City received a $2.5M Community Development Block Grant to upgrade water mains serving residential customers all over the city, and the contractor is expected to complete work in November.
- Additionally, localized repairs to sewer main lines are happening as needed throughout the city. Contractors recently examined nearly 96,000 linear feet of sewer mains to determine the condition of the City’s network and identify repair locations and problems in the network. Two localized lines identified are now being repaired to avoid issues in the future.
- Sewer pipes throughout the city are primarily all vitrified clay pipe (VCP) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and some were installed as long ago as the 1960s. However due to the unique soils in Grover Beach and consistently high levels of maintenance by the City, the network is in exceptional condition given its age and size.
The City has also completed several projects recently including:
- ADA improvements: As part of a citywide ADA improvements project, four curb ramps along 16th Street were installed, along with additional striping, stop signs and crosswalks.
- 16th Street Park improvements: In addition to the recent completion of a new inclusive playground, 16th Street Park also received renovated park restrooms and new pedestrian-level park lighting.
- Citywide sidewalk improvements: The City has started a multi-year project to construct infill sidewalks and maintain current sidewalks and corner ramps, enhancing pedestrian access in key areas. Work recently completed includes sidewalk infill at South 10th Street and Manhattan between South 12th Street and South 13th Street.
- Oak Park Blvd. and West Grand Avenue intersection rehabilitation work: Crews recently completed utility improvements, pavement rehabilitation, lane reconfiguration and restriping and traffic signal modifications to improve the city’s busiest intersection.
- Street improvements: Significant progress has been made on Measure K-14 Street Rehabilitation Projects recently, including the completion of:
- Rehabilitation of North 14th Street in its entirety and South 14th Street between Mentone Avenue and Farroll Road, North 8th Street between West Grand Avenue and Atlantic City Avenue and South 9th Street from West Grand Avenue to Rockaway. This project also included sidewalk infill on South 14th Street.
- Microsurfacing light maintenance on 24 streets around the city to extend the useful life of the pavement on these streets.
The City will continue to prioritize capital projects to improve critical infrastructure that our community counts on with many other exciting projects to look forward to such as improving South Oak Park Boulevard between West Grand Avenue and Mentone Avenue beginning this fall. To find out more about these and other Public Works projects, visit the Department webpage.