At its October 10 meeting, the Grover Beach City Council received a comprehensive update on the City’s street repair and maintenance program, including a summary of the work accomplished in recent years and future road repair and funding needs.
Since voters’ approval of Measure K-14 in 2014, the City has leveraged its bond funds to rehabilitate more than 300 city blocks or 70 percent of the Measure K-14 residential street program. Additionally, the City has completed five major improvement projects on key arterial streets, with funding support from local cannabis and sales tax revenues.
“Improving our streets is a top priority for our Council, and thanks to Grover Beach voters, the City has had the resources to deliver results,” said Grover Beach Mayor Karen Bright. “We are pleased with the exciting progress to date and are committed to continuing this momentum.”
With approximately $15.3 million remaining in Measure K-14 funds, the City is scheduled to start construction on its 16th Measure K-14 project in November, focusing on 20 blocks of Front Street, North 2nd Street, Saratoga Avenue and Ramona Street. Design is also underway for another Measure K-14 project, expected to break ground in Spring 2024. Eight additional residential street projects are planned over the next seven to nine years to complete the Measure K-14 program approximately 10 years ahead of schedule.
While Measure K-14 funded improvements have focused on local residential streets, significant improvements to enhance heavily trafficked streets near businesses and residents have also moved forward since 2016. Notable projects include improvements to West Grand Avenue, North and South Oak Park Boulevard, and South Fourth Street.
Looking to the future, the City projects escalating inflationary and construction costs for street repair programs. At current cost estimates, the City forecasts a shortage of between $2.5 and $4 million to fully complete the programmed Measure K-14 projects. Estimates for future major street projects, including the West Grand Avenue Streetscape Project, have also increased. On October 10, the Council rejected a lone bid on the 4th-8th Street streetscape project that was significantly higher than budgeted. Staff will return to Council on October 23 with more information on the next steps for that critical project and will continue to engage the Council on additional funding opportunities to meet the City’s overall repair needs.
During the meeting, Council also directed staff on two immediate street-related items: to return to Council with a future agenda item to consider a Grover Heights Elementary School request to relocate a school crosswalk and to indefinitely close South 4th Street south of Highland Way. This section of South 4th Street has been closed since it suffered significant damage during the winter storms, and repairs will require a complex redesign estimated at $5 million to address challenges with flooding and debris. Council directed staff to monitor grant opportunities that can fund a larger active transportation project on South 4th Street as a permanent solution to rehabilitating this street.
“The City of Grover Beach has made tremendous strides over the past eight years to improve our roads across the community, investing local tax dollars efficiently and impactfully,” said Grover Beach City Manager Matthew Bronson. “Despite challenges posed by inflation and rising costs, I have confidence in our Council and community to work together in identifying optimal future solutions to improve our infrastructure.”