ESCONDIDO: Centre City roadwork expected to create congestion
Deep patch repairs under way on Centre City Parkway
By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer | ∞
Signs posted along Centre City Parkway and adjoining streets in Escondido warn motorists to expect delays because of construction work until July 4. (Photo by Nick Morris - for the North County Times ESCONDIDO ---- Traffic will occasionally grind to a halt on Centre City Parkway over the next few weeks while road crews conduct deep patch repairs on Escondido's busiest north-south roadway.
The $1.4 million project, which began Wednesday and runs through July 4, will cover three separate portions of Centre City: the northern city limits to Country Club Lane, Second Avenue to Fifth Avenue, and Felicita Avenue to the southern city limits.
The other portions of Centre City got deep patch repairs in previous years, said Bud Oliveira, the city's construction project manager.
The project will include repairing potholes and laying new asphalt where necessary.
Most of Centre City is a four-lane road featuring two lanes running in each direction. One or both sides of the street will be reduced to one lane during the project, said Oliveira. Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, he said.
Oliveira said drivers should try to use other north-south routes during the course of the project, such as Interstate 15, Escondido Boulevard or Broadway. The morning and late afternoon commute hours are when city officials expect Centre City to be the most congested, he said.
The project will be the city's main road rehabilitation work for the year, said Oliveira. City officials typically choose one road each summer, he said. The work can be done more efficiently during warm months because asphalt responds better to higher temperatures, said Oliveira.
A second portion of the project will include deep patch repairs on two portions of Quince Street. That work will begin when the repairs on Centre City are complete, said Oliveira.
Money for the project is coming from the city's road repair fund, which includes gas taxes and other money that the city must spend on road work, said Oliveira. The contractor hired for the work is ABC Construction.
While it would be more convenient for drivers if roadwork was conducted at night, Oliveira said that would mean higher costs for labor and materials.
No one will be out directing traffic during the project, but crews will use cones to merge two lanes into one when necessary, said Oliveira.
The road work may snarl traffic near the plazas where Felicita and Centre City Parkway intersect.
The owner of Major Market, one of the largest stores in that area, said last week that he had not received any complaints since the work began Wednesday. But the owner, Dick London, said he was concerned that crews were using too many cones and shrinking the roadway too much.
"It seems like they may be overcompensating a bit, and they have cones out there even when they are not working," said London. "But I know it's important to get rid of the potholes."
The work on Quince Street will be between Second and Fifth avenues and along the eastern edge of the Escondido Transit Center between Gannon Place and Valley Parkway, said Oliveira.
Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.
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What About Oak Hill wrote on Jun 6, 2008 9:20 PM:This road is falling apart!
What about wrote on Jun 7, 2008 10:54 AM:Rock Springs Rd in front of Pep Boys between Washington and Mission. The road literally looks like it's sinking. Weird!
NYHICA wrote on Jun 7, 2008 9:18 PM:Glad to finally know where some of our gas tax money is being used.
laserman wrote on Jun 9, 2008 6:38 AM:What about Felicita? That road has become a slalom course. I am appalled that the city has let what is a major feeder road fall into such disrepair. When the potholes are patched a little asphalt is thrown in. It is gone in a week and the road is a mess again. The city is helping this by cutting a new trench across the road once a week just to spice things up.
George wrote on Jun 9, 2008 9:02 AM:While they're repairing the road, how about widening it by a lane or two in each direction? And don't forget -- it was built to freeway specifictions, since it was originally US-395 before the construction of I-15.
Benny wrote on Jun 9, 2008 9:15 AM:Look at how Caltrans does work on the I-15 Managed Lanes Project during night...so should repair Centre City Parkway do too!!
What a joke... wrote on Jun 9, 2008 1:19 PM:The roads in this town are a total mess, everywhere. The examples noted above are especially bad but there are some horrible stretches all through town. There's really no excuse for this as the money collected in gas taxes should more than cover the periodic repairs required. Parts of East Washington were resurfaced some months back and that's the only way repairs should ever be done. It's like a new road.
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