Supervisors approve list of roads funded by gas tax

The state gas tax and vehicle registration fee increase which is part of the Road Repair and Accountability Act passed by the state Legislature in 2017 survived an initiative petition to repeal those increases, so local governments are still providing the California Transportation Commission with a list of projects the tax revenue will be funding.

The list of projects San Diego County plans to fund during fiscal year 2019-2020 was approved on a 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote, March 27. The roads total 144.11 centerline miles and include 33 road segments in Fallbrook, seven in Bonsall and one in Rainbow.

Senate Bill 1, which was signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in April 2017, increased the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon effective November 2017 and increased vehicle registration fees between $25 and $175 based on vehicle value effective spring 2018. The legislation also requires local governments to submit a list of projects the tax revenue will be funding to the California Transportation Commission. The tax increases are expected to provide local governments with an additional $7.5 billion of funding over the next 10 years including $538 million for San Diego County. The county expects to receive $37.9 million of Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funding during fiscal year 2018-2019 and $39.5 million during 2019-2020.

The Road Repair and Accountability Act stipulated that the new funding shall be prioritized for expenditures on basic road maintenance and road rehabilitation projects and on critical safety projects, although the funding is also allowed to be used for railroad grade separations, street segment completions, pedestrian and bicycle safety projects, transit facilities, drainage and stormwater capture projects in conjunction with another allowable road project, traffic control devices and local match requirements for state or federal funding.

The county policy has been to include all roads planned for resurfacing, and the county may choose to use funding other than the gas tax and vehicle registration fees for some of the resurfacing work. A subsequent board of supervisors action will authorize the advertisement for bid and award of a contract for the resurfacing.

The county’s Department of Public Works maintains nearly 2,000 miles of road in unincorporated San Diego County, and road crews inspect the roads and prioritize them for preventative maintenance. DPW utilizes a pavement management system which incorporates field review, resident and community input, and mechanical test data collection to determine which roads are most in need of resurfacing. The structural deterioration of pavement is measured visually by assessing the degree and type of cracking, the surface deterioration and surface defects.

The road maintenance program also evaluates the preferred rehabilitation strategy. Asphalt concrete pavement overlays are used for severely degraded roads with extensive cracking or potholes, although if the road has only minor cracking and no significant surface damage a thinner layer of slurry seals may be applied to protect the road.

The Fallbrook road portions to be resurfaced are 0.12 miles of Avocado Park Lane between Avocado Vista Lane and the cul-de-sac, 0.08 miles of Avocado Park Way between Avocado Vista Way and the cul-de-sac, 0.08 miles of Avocado Vista between Lake Circle Drive and Avocado Vista Lane, 0.36 miles of Avocado Vista Lane between Dulin Road and the cul-de-sac, 0.20 miles of Brandon Road between Alvarado Street and East Mission Road, 0.98 miles of Dulin Road between Shearer Crossing and Old Highway 395, 0.74 miles of Fallsbrae Road between Via Monserate and the cul-de-sac, 0.25 miles of Fig Street between East Mission Road and Orange Avenue, 0.39 miles of Green Canyon Road between Winterwarm Drive and Winter Haven Road, 0.25 miles of Hawthorne Street between South Mission Road and Orange Avenue, 0.16 miles of Hillrise Road between Fallsbrae Road and Ramona Drive, 0.06 miles of Iowa Avenue between East Mission Road and Ivy Street, 0.13 miles of Iowa Avenue between Dougherty Street and Porter Street, 0.25 miles of Ivy Street between Pico Avenue and Iowa Street, 0.06 miles of Kentucky Street between Olive Avenue and Iowa Avenue, 0.08 miles of Lake Circle Court between Dulin Road and Lake Shore Court, 0.30 miles of Lake Circle Drive between Dulin Road and Lake Circle Avenue, 0.13 miles of Lake Park Court between the western cul-de-sac and the eastern cul-de-sac, 0.08 miles of Lake Shore Court between the western cul-de-sac and the eastern cul-de-sac, 0.13 miles of Olive Avenue between Dougherty Street and Porter Street, 0.06 miles of Orange Avenue between Fig Street and Elder Street, 0.13 miles of Orange Avenue between Hawthorne Street and East Mission Road, 0.13 miles of Orange Avenue between Dougherty Street and Porter Street, 0.06 miles of Pico Avenue between Fig Street and Elder Street, 0.18 miles of Pico Avenue between Alvarado Street and East Mission Road, 0.32 miles of Porter Street between Orange Avenue and Olive Avenue, 0.10 miles of Porter Way between Porter Street and the cul-de-sac, 1.77 miles of Ranger Road between East Mission Road and Reche Road, 0.76 miles of Reche Road between Stage Coach Lane and Green Canyon Road, 0.63 miles of Sycamore Drive between Green Canyon Road and the end of Sycamore Drive, 0.18 miles of Vine Avenue between Alvarado Street and East Mission Road, 0.06 miles of the alley west of Main Avenue between Alvarado Street and Fig Street and 0.11 miles of the alley east of Main Avenue between Ivy Street and East Alvarado Street.

Bonsall motorists will see the resurfacing of 1.16 miles of Camino Del Rey between Via Marina Elena and Camino Del Los Caballos, 0.06 miles of Curtis Drive between Barsby Street and the end of the paved road, 0.26 miles of Dentro De Lomas between Gopher Canyon Road and the cul-de-sac, 0.08 miles of Felicia Way between Dentro De Lomas and the cul-de-sac, 0.58 miles of Guajome Lake Road between the Vista city limit and the Oceanside city limit, 0.99 miles of Mason Road between East Vista Way and the end of the county-maintained road, and 0.12 miles of Nella Lane between Gopher Canyon Road and the cul-de-sac.

Old Highway 395 in Rainbow will be resurfaced for the 1.36-mile segment between Second Street and the Riverside county line.

All of the resurfaced roads in Greater Fallbrook will have a post-resurfacing expected service life of 10 to 15 years.