East Blithedale Construction Causing 15 Minute Backups, But Going Smoothly

Three weeks into the East Blithedale construction project work is moving steadily forward, with police reporting relatively smooth traffic during the renovation of the road from Camino Alto to Elm/Alto Vista avenues.

“It’s a little backed up in the morning,” said Lt. Jacqueline Graf-Reis, who has been doing daily patrols to monitor the flow. Traffic is slow around the 8 a.m. when the construction crews are setting up, and then speeds up during the rest of the day.

Severin Ott, resident engineer at Bellecci and Associates, said it also gets heavy between 11:30 p.m. – 1 p.m. during lunchtime, but the average delay has been between 10 to 15 minutes.

“As long as it doesn’t get to where people have to wait 20 minutes,” he said.

The city has asked residents to allow for extra time when using East Blithedale, and recommends avoiding it all together and using Miller Avenue and Camino Alto as alternate routes.

“Also, please be courteous to your neighbors and do not cut through the residential side streets during the construction period,” Assistant to the City Manager Linn Walsh has said.

Police have been doing extra patrols in the residential neighborhoods, and people have been respectful, Graf-Reis said.

“We haven’t received any complaints from residents,” she said.

So far, workers have replaced the sewer main between Amicita and Mesa, and moved on to a sewer line replacement in the vicinity of Hilarita Avenue. One lane is currently closed for about 200 to 300 feet between Hilarita and Elm avenues. 

As the work continues toward downtown, on Monday construction crews will start on the sewer line at Elm Avenue, east of the intersection.

Residents in the construction zone will a receive a notice 72 hours before workers get to their house, and again 24 hours in advance with more specific time frames of when they’ll be in the area.

The first phase of the project involves replacing the sewer lines, manholes and other features of the sewer, and should take about six weeks and cost an estimated $700,000. The second phase, which will take about three weeks, involves a two-part surface treatment to the road for about $50,000. In the first step workers will fill in the potholes and cracks and then apply a seal. In the second step, they’ll microsurface the street using a high-quality aggregate that’s designed to extend the life of the pavement.

The project itself is meant as a temporary fix prior a major overhaul of East Blithedale scheduled to start in 2018 – once the $20 million Miller Avenue Streetscape Plan is complete. 

The overall cost of the interim repairs is $750,000, plus a 20 percent contingency that brings the total to $900,000. It will be paid for through the city’s Municipal Services Tax, which provides $1.2 million a year for road rehabilitations.

The repairs have been going well so far, Ott said, but there’s always going to be some surprises. One of those involves a PG&E gas line between Elm and Mesa avenues that needs to be relocated so it’s not in the way of the sewer line. Bellecci and Associates is working with PG&E to make that happen from July 15 though August 2, and it will cause multiple, alternating lane closures and continued traffic delays.

Ott said the rain that delayed the start of the project by a day was also an uncontrollable factor, but so far the project is on track to be completed by August 23.

“We are still planning to get it done on time,” Ott said.

For more information, follow the Mill Valley Police Department’s Twitter account @MillValleyPD for updates, sign up for email alerts through the city’s website (click road closures), or contact the East Blithedale Project Hotline at 590-0117 or email publicworks@cityofmillvalley.org.