SLO County Asset Management Improvements

 Project Description

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) proposes to improve assets in poor condition to ensure the long-term serviceability of U.S. Route 101 in San Luis Obispo County from post mile 7.8 to post mile 16.5, between Nipomo and the City of Pismo Beach. Asphalt concrete overlay will be placed on U.S. Route 101 within most of the project limits. Other assets included in this project are culvert improvements, bikeway striping, adding maintenance vehicle pullouts, paving beyond the gore area, fence replacement, vegetation control, slope paving, installing median concrete barriers, bridge rail replacement, bridge deck sealing, bridge approach slabs, and updating the curb ramps to current Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

project vicinity map 


Project Benefits

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to improve assets in poor condition by improving the ride quality and extending the service life of the existing pavement, reducing maintenance worker exposure to high-speed traffic, improving roadside maintainability, maintaining access control, and restoring damaged culverts in poor condition to maintain the purpose of the pipes and protect the embankments and roadway from potential slope failure. Assets will also be improved by replacing existing concrete baluster rails with new rails that meet current standards, updating curb ramps to current Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and improving bike paths.

Need

The pavement within the project limits (post miles 7.8 to 16.5) is exhibiting distress and unacceptable ride quality, which will continue to deteriorate if left uncorrected.

Identified areas within the project limits frequently expose maintenance workers to high-speed traffic. Areas of concern in this project are gore areas (triangular plots of land between highway ramps and lanes), nearby slopes, concrete median barriers, vegetation control (minor concrete under guardrail), damaged fences, and the lack of maintenance vehicle pullouts and approach slabs (concrete slab that supports the transition from a road to bridge abutment or culvert) within the project limits.

As documented in drainage system reports from the culvert inventory, eight culverts have been identified within the project limits and show varying degrees of damage caused by corrosion, deformation, perforation, damaged inverts, joint separation, undermined backfill, and overall deterioration. If culverts deteriorate any more, future roadway failure is possible.

The Structure Maintenance and Investigations State Highway Operation and Protection Program Bridge and Tunnel Good/Fair/Poor Bridge List identified poor bridge rail. During biennial (every other year) bridge inspections, Structure Maintenance and Investigations Area Bridge Maintenance identified soffit (lower surface of a bridge) cracking and efflorescence (crystal residue caused by salts in water) and deck pattern cracking at various locations and recommended preventive overlay strategies to prolong the service life of the structures.

Curb ramps do not meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The bike path’s surfacing near the southbound Price Street on-ramp and the southbound Five Cities Drive off-ramp (post miles 16.0 to 16.5) is showing distress. The proposed Class 2 bike lanes will close the gap on the local road under the Los Berros Road undercrossing (post mile 7.84), between the intersections of the northbound and southbound ramps.

Estimated Funding Breakdown

Funding Source Funding Amount
State $365,400
Federal $32,013,400
Construction Cost $32,378,800

 

Proposed Project Schedule

Process Date
Final environmental document to be completed August 2022 
Right-of-way acquisition to be completed April 2024
Design to be completed June 2024
Advertise September 2024
Construction to begin January 2025
Construction to be completed January 2026

Project Contact

Amy Donatello, Project Manager
Phone: (805) 276-0811
Email: amy.donatello@dot.ca.gov

Public Information Office, Caltrans District 5
Phone: (805) 549-3318
Email:info-d5@dot.ca.gov

Documents

Accessibility Assistance: Caltrans makes every attempt to ensure our documents are accessible. Due to variances between assistive technologies, there may be portions of this document which are not accessible. Where documents cannot be made accessible, we are committed to providing alternative access to the content. Should you need additional assistance, please contact us at (916) 654-2852 or visit https://dot.ca.gov/request-ada-compliant-documents.

Title VI Information

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) assures that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and Federal Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations).

Caltrans will make every effort to ensure nondiscrimination in all of its programs and activities, whether they are federally funded or not, and that services and benefits are fairly distributed to all people, regardless of race, color, or national origin. In addition, Caltrans will facilitate meaningful participation in the transportation planning process in a nondiscriminatory manner.