CALTRANS TO START RESURFACING PORTIONS OF SR-67
The start date of Caltrans’ proposed state Route 67 resurfacing project is being pushed back from this summer to spring 2022, Caltrans officials said. But in the meantime, a small-scale resurfacing project will begin July 19 to improve the main thoroughfare through Ramona, according to Caltrans.
The full-scale Pavement Rehabilitation Project is planned for 18 miles of the highway from Willow Road just north of the San Diego River bridge in Lakeside to 10th Street in Ramona, said Marcelo Peinado, Caltrans district division chief of maintenance engineering and asset management.
Last May, Caltrans staff reported the project would cost approximately $37 million and would be paid for with gasoline taxes, approved by the governor as the Senate Bill 1 gasoline excise tax in 2017.
However, Caltrans received only one bid from a contractor for the SR-67 project, and it was over the $32 million capital budget, which is different than the total project cost, said Cathryne Bruce-Johnson, Caltrans District 11 spokesperson. The project is being modified and Caltrans will begin accepting new bids for the revised work starting in November, said Bruce-Johnson.
Construction is currently scheduled to begin in early spring, she said. Details are still being determined and the construction schedule will be available when the contractor is on board,” Bruce-Johnson said.
The small-scale road resurfacing project is expected to begin Monday on eight segments of SR-67. The first five locations will be just north of Carnation Avenue near Highland Valley/Dye Road and continue to state Route 78/10th Street. The three other segments will be from Rockhouse Road to Shady Oaks Drive.
Bruce-Johnson said the project, referred to as “microsurfacing,” involves placing a thin overlay on the existing pavement that will seal and protect the treated areas until the SR-67 Pavement Rehabilitation Project is ready for construction.
The microsurfacing is expected to take six weeks to complete at a cost of $660,000, according to Caltrans. The work hours have not been determined, although Caltrans previously reported the large-scale resurfacing project work would be done from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The larger, more comprehensive resurfacing project is planned to include broadband infrastructure, with conduits installed for broadband Internet service simultaneously while the roadwork is under way, Caltrans staff said. An Internet service provider would install the broadband equipment after the conduits are built into the road.
Bruce-Johnson said the design and installation of broadband is being coordinated with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the county of San Diego, and the Barona Band of Mission Indians. She said the project will also involve outreach to Internet service providers.
Ramona Community Planning Group member Dan Summers said Caltrans updated the group’s Ramona State Routes Subcommittee (RSRS) with the revised resurfacing plans on June 23.
Summers said portions of SR-67 are filled with cracks and potholes, and the resurfacing project is long overdue.
“It’s turning into beach sand,” he said. “But Caltrans realizes how bad SR-67 from Highland Valley Road to Ramona Street is. They will do a temporary Band-Aid resurfacing in late July.”
The full-scale project should also include reconstructing portions of the existing road, so that in the worst sections new road segments will be installed, Summers said.
Questions or concerns about the road resurfacing projects can be addressed to the Caltrans District 11 Public Information Office at (619) 688-6670 or by email to CT.Public.Information.D11@dot.ca.gov.