By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council has approved a multi-million dollar contract for the first phase of roadway enhancements on San Juan Avenue in Citrus Heights.
According to a description from Citrus Heights General Services Department, the San Juan Avenue Complete Streets Phase 1A project is the first phase of a larger project to improve the safety of San Juan Avenue for all users, including vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders.
Phase 1A improvements will take place on San Juan Avenue between Madison Avenue and Chesline Drive and introduce multiple roadway safety elements, including buffered bicycle lanes, a new sidewalk and new street lighting on the east side of the avenue, traffic signal upgrades, storm drain infrastructure upgrades, roadway resurfacing, and enhanced transit stops which include ADA compliance updates.
During the city council’s meeting last month on Dec. 14, 2023, General Services Engineer Leslie Blomquist called the San Juan Complete Streets project “very exciting.” Blomquist also indicated that Phase 1 was originally intended to extend from Madison Avenue to Spicer Drive, but was separated into Phase 1A and Phase 1B due to funding. Blomquist added that Phase 1B is now fully funded and the city is actively working on finalizing plans for Phase 1B of the project.
In 2016, the city identified roadway enhancements on San Juan Avenue as priority within the City’s adopted Pedestrian Master Plan, which can be read here. In 2019, the city applied for funding, and was awarded a regional “State of Good Repair” grant in the amount of $2 million for the engineering, right-of-way and a portion of construction. In 2023, the city applied for a Maintenance and Modernization grant, and was awarded an additional $1.3 million for the rest of the construction.
In the agenda packet, the city listed other funding sources, including SACOG grants, Measure A Traffic Safety funds, Stormwater utility funds, and utility company contributions.
Blomquist noted the entirety of the San Juan Complete Streets project’s goal is to enhance San Juan Avenue from Madison Avenue to Greenback Lane in the future, addressing safety issues on both sides of the roadway.
A city engineer provided an estimate of a $3.3 million base bid for the project, and a total of nine bids were received in November 2023. After staff analysis, city staff determined that All Phase Construction, Inc.’s base bid of roughly $2.75 million was the lowest “responsive and responsible bid.”
After review of three proposals for construction management services in early 2023, Ghirardelli Associates, Inc. was selected to provide construction management, inspection and materials testing services.
The total estimated bid for the entire project, which includes contingencies, construction management and inspections, was $3.6 million and according to Blomquist, the project bids from All Phase Construction Inc. and Ghirardelli Associates Inc. fall just under budget.
Mayor Bret Daniels called the effort “a sorely needed project” during the council meeting, adding that the roadway enhancements will “make a lot of people happy and make our city look a whole lot better too.”
No date of when construction will begin was provided. However, the city noted in the agenda packet that the project’s CEQA and NEPA environmental clearance was completed in April 2022 and final engineering designs have already been completed, making the project “ready for construction.”
By Sara Beth Williams--
The Citrus Heights City Council last month voted unanimously to approve a multi-million dollar contract for the first phase of roadway...
Thanks for reading The Sentinel. You are either trying to access subscribers-only content or you have reached your limit of 4 free articles per 30 days. Click here to sign in or subscribe.