Saratoga News

Pathways to get facelift

Delays expected in August

By Sarah Lombardo

Pathways along Saratoga's Heritage Lane, also known as Saratoga Avenue, will be getting a facelift in the coming weeks. As a result, Saratoga drivers may be getting headaches.

"There will be some traffic control out there," John Cherbone, assistant engineer with the city of Saratoga, said. "We may have to close a lane of traffic."

But Cherbone said the roadwork, scheduled to start in mid-August, and subsequent traffic delays will only last about a month.

The work involves the pathways that run along the northbound side of Saratoga Avenue from Big Basin Way to Barone Court. According to Cherbone, the paths are going to receive some needed improvements.

"Basically, it's going to connect the existing pathways and rehabilitate the pathways out there that need work," he said.

A small asphalt curb will be installed along the road "to keep the traffic away from the path and improve drainage," Cherbone said, "so we're killing two birds with one stone." Cherbone added that the project will make the paths safer for pedestrians.

Keeping in mind the road's designation as Heritage Lane, Cherbone said the city is using materials that will make the work compatible with the look of the street. "We want to keep it looking rural," he said. "This way we keep the character of the road the way it should be."

The project will also include giving the street a new layer of asphalt. The contract was awarded to O'Grady Paving in Mountain View by the City Council last week. O'Grady Paving has worked for the city in the past and came in with bid of $207,013 for the road work, a little more than 8 percent below engineer estimates.

Interim City Manager Larry Perlin said funding for the project comes from the city's general fund--the street maintenance budget, to be precise. But $21,423 for the pathway part of the work, he said, will be seperately funded through a TDA grant, an annual allocation the city is given for pedestrian- and bicycle-related projects. TDA grant money is garnered from the state gas tax and is funneled to cities through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

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