Madera County OKs list of road projects

The Madera County Board of Supervisors amended a 2017-2018 road fund budget during its regular meeting this week to add a list of proposed upgrade projects, including grader caps and micro seals, for local roadways.

To qualify for state funding, this fiscal year’s project list must be submitted to the California Transportation Commission by Monday. Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act, is expected to provide $1.68 million in Madera County road maintenance funds for 2017-2018.

The list includes: Avenue 17 from Walden Drive to Road 26 (micro seal), Avenue 9 from BNSF Railway tracks to Road 36 (fog seal), Avenue 9 from State Route 99 to BNSF tracks (grader cap), Road 38 from avenues 9-12 (grader cap), Road 26 from avenues 17-21 (micro seal), and Road 28 1/2 from avenues 20-21 (overlay).

Maintaining existing roads takes fewer funds and time than replacing them, according to Ahmad Alkhayyat, Madera County public works director.

“We’ve had a growing backlog of deferred maintenance in our county,” said Supervisor Max Rodriguez, District 4. “The new road improvement funding will allow us to start catching up on the backlog and making our local streets, roads and bridges safer, smoother and sustainable in the long term.”

Under SB1, the state will invest $5.4 billion annually over the next decade to maintain and improve its travel infrastructure. Cities and counties, which will receive half of SB1 revenue, will adopt project lists at the start of every fiscal year and provide year-end reports on completed projects.

For information about SB1, visit www.rebuildingca.ca.gov.