Construction contract to improve arterials,and enhance mobility, community safety

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City of Gardena officials have approved a roughly $4 million construction contract with All American Asphalt for the Rosecrans Avenue Arterial Improvement Project to begin next month and which will make significant street improvements to a notable South Bay thoroughfare.

City of Gardena officials have approved a roughly $4 million construction contract with All American Asphalt for the Rosecrans Avenue Arterial Improvement Project to begin next month and which will make significant street improvements to a notable South Bay thoroughfare.

“The city takes great pride in its public roadways that continue to receive high marks and this latest investment, thanks to Measure R, underscores our commitment throughout the years to maintaining a road network system that supports our residents, businesses and regional commuters.” Edward Medrano, Gardena Police Chief and Director of the Police, Streets, and Development Services Department said.

Rosecrans Avenue has changed drastically since it was a two-lane road in the 1950s, and it will look even different after 10,400 feet of pavement have been rehabilitated between Crenshaw Boulevard and Vermont Avenue for an additional twenty-year design life, Medrano said.

This aligns with Gardena’s ongoing goal to preserve and improve its nearly nineteen miles of arterial, 28 miles of collector, and some fifty-six miles of local streets.

This project will also include critical operational improvements of benefit to the surface street highway system such as traffic signal upgrades, construction of new landscaped medians, signing and striping, concrete sidewalk enhancements, and new curb ramps made accessible for handicapped pedestrians. The estimated completion date is March 2015.

Measure R, a one-half cent sales tax increase approved by Los Angeles County voters in November 2008, specifies that South Bay Highway funds be used to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion and operational deficiencies in an existing State Highway corridor.

The South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) serves as the local program manager to help develop and oversee 45 projects totaling $225 million over the next decade.

Gardena is a General Law City, incorporated in 1930, that encompasses 5.95 square miles with an ethnically diverse population of approximately 62,000.