Greater Fallbrook area has 47 roads on resurfacing list

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The County of San Diego has approved its preliminary list of road segments to be resurfaced, and 47 of those road segments are in the greater Fallbrook area.

A 4-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote May 25, with Joel Anderson absent, adopted a resolution with the list of projects to be funded by fiscal year 2022-23 Road Repair and Accountability Act revenue. The road segments include 30 in Fallbrook, eight in Bonsall, five in Rainbow, three in Pauma Valley, and one in Pala.

The Road Repair and Accountability Act was passed by the state legislature in 2017 and raised the gas tax by 12 cents per gallon while raising annual vehicle registration fees from $25 to $175 based on vehicle value. The stipulations require that local governments submit a list of projects to be funded by Road Repair and Accountability Act revenue to the California Transportation Commission. The county's Department of Public Works is anticipating $51 million of Road Repair and Accountability Act funding during 2022-23 and, if the list is unchanged, 144.6 centerline miles throughout the unincorporated county will be resurfaced.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed a pavement condition index which utilizes specialized vehicles with downward-facing cameras to inspect roads and determine the road condition. The county's average PCI was adversely affected by rising construction costs, decreases in state funding, and declining gas tax revenue due to more fuel-efficient cars and electric vehicles. The PCI average fell from 71 in 2010 to 60 in 2016. The county's intent in 2017 was to use the Road Repair and Accountability Act money to restore the PCI average to 70, and the current plan is to have a PCI average of 70 by 2025. The current PCI average is 66.

A road with a PCI of 71 to 100 is considered very good, and those roads need only routine maintenance. A segment with a PCI of 51 to 70 is considered good, and sealing is the primary remediation method. Roads with a PCI of 26 to 50 are considered poor, and an overlay is used to restore those roads. Streets with a PCI of 25 or lower are considered very poor and require major rehabilitation including the removal of all asphalt and the subgrade base.

DPW uses a pavement management system which incorporates field review, resident and community input, and mechanical test data to determine which roads are most in need of resurfacing. The structural deterioration of pavement is measured visibly by assessing the degree and type of cracking, the surface deterioration, and the 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. Roads with overlay treatment have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years following the repaving. Slurry seal treatment provides a subsequent life expectancy of seven to 10 years.

Ten of the Fallbrook road segments slated to be resurfaced will have a life expectancy of seven to 10 years after the slurry seal treatment is applied: 0.09 miles of Lake Circle Place between Dulin Road and Lake Shore Place, 0.11 miles of Lake Park Place between the western and eastern cul-de-sacs, 0.10 miles of Lake Shore Place between the western and eastern cul-de-sacs, 0.09 miles of Via Almonte between Via Belmonte and the cul-de-sac, 0.36 miles of Via Altamira between the beginning of the county-maintained road and Old Highway 395, 0.19 miles of Via Belmonte between Old Highway 395 and Via Altamira, 0.20 miles of Via De Todos Santos between Via Altamira and the end of the county-maintained road, 0.02 miles of Via Inca between Via Belmonte and the cul-de-sac, 0.04 miles of Via Serra between Via De Todos Santos and the cul-de-sac, and 0.03 miles of Via Tala between Via De Todos Santos and the cul-de-sac.

The other 20 Fallbrook road segments will have overlay treatment with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. Those are the 0.22 miles of Alturas Road from College Street to Sancado Terrace, 0.06 miles of Beech Street from Alturas Road to Summit Avenue, 0.13 miles of Beech Street from South Mission Road to Main Avenue, 0.06 miles of College Street from Alturas Road to the cul-de-sac, 0.31 miles of College Street from South Mission Road to the end of the county-maintained road, 0.04 miles of Cozy Court from Sancado Terrace to the cul-de-sac, 0.97 miles of East Mission Road from Live Oak Park Road to Sterling View Drive, 0.37 miles of East Mission Road from Old Highway 395 to the East Mission Road connector, and 0.03 miles of the East Mission Road connector from Old Highway 395 to East Mission Road.

The overlay treatment plan also includes 0.25 miles of Elbrook Street from Elder Street to Fallbrook Street, 0.25 miles of Elder Street from the beginning of the county-maintained road to Brandon Road, 0.04 miles of Mission Road from South Mission Road to the end of the county-maintained road, 1.04 miles of Old Highway 395 from Mission Road to Reche Road, 0.65 miles of Old Highway 395 from Sterling View Drive to the Mission Road connector, 0.16 miles of Sancado Terrace from Alturas Road to Wisconsin Avenue, 0.65 miles of Sterling View Drive from East Mission Road to the end, 0.05 miles of the Sterling View extension from Sterling View Drive to the end, 0.20 miles of Summit Avenue from Elder Street to the end of the county-maintained road, 0.06 miles of Teran Drive from Wisconsin Avenue to the cul-de-sac, and 0.19 miles of Wisconsin Avenue from Fallbrook Street to Aviation Road.

All of the Bonsall road segments would have overlay treatment with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years after the resurfacing. Those are the 0.34 miles of Blackwell Drive from the beginning to the end, 0.84 miles of Fairview Drive from Gopher Canyon Road to the end, 0.15 miles of Harris Drive from Hutchison Street to the end, 1.44 miles of Hutchison Street from East Vista Way to Barsby Street, 1.50 miles of Little Gopher Canyon Road from Gopher Canyon Road to Old River Road, 0.16 miles of Oriente Drive from Hutchison Street to the cul-de-sac, 0.04 miles of Oriente Place from Oriente Drive to Roca Place, and 0.04 miles of Roca Place from Oriente Drive to the eastern cul-de-sac.

The five Rainbow segments will all have overlay resurfacing and a subsequent life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. The county plans to resurface 0.79 miles of Huffstatler Street from Rainbow Valley Boulevard to First Street, 0.08 miles of Rainbow Glen Road from Rainbow Valley Boulevard to Old Highway 395, 0.98 miles of Rainbow Valley Boulevard from Chica Street to the Riverside county line, 0.66 miles of Rainbow Valley Boulevard from Huffstatler Street to Eighth Street, and 0.45 miles of Rainbow Valley Boulevard West from Rainbow Valley Boulevard to the cul-de-sac.

The Pauma Valley road resurfacing will utilize the overlay method with the life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. The planned segments are 0.64 miles of Old Cole Grade Road from Cole Grade Road to the end of the county-maintained road, 0.47 miles of Pauma Valley Drive from Cole Grade Road to the end of the road, and 0.17 miles of Spring Valley Road from Cole Grade Road to the cul-de-sac.

The planned Pala resurfacing will provide overlay treatment on 1.15 miles of Pala Mission Road between its intersections with State Route 76.

The California Transportation Commission allows changes to the list of roads to be funded with Road Repair and Accountability Act money. DPW will undertake a design process including in-depth road reviews and coordination with utilities, community groups, and other stakeholders. Information collected during the design process will be used to determine the final list.

After DPW develops a final list, the resurfacing will return to the Board of Supervisors for authorization to advertise and award one or more construction contracts for the resurfacing work.