A reprieve from potholes
By Aaron Blevins, 9/13/2012
Wilshire Blvd. curb gets repaved, and then some
Wilshire Boulevard will again get much needed work this weekend, as Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services crews repave portions of the boulevard, which hasn’t been paved in more than 20 years.
Sixteen feet from the curb is getting paved on Wilshire. More work will be done over the weekend. (photo by Aaron Blevins)
Crews were out last weekend, paving the eastbound lanes from Fairfax Avenue to Hudson Avenue. The work was primarily done on Saturday, and traffic impacts were felt locally.
“It did lead to some delays,” said Cora Jackson-Fossett, the director of public affairs for the city’s department of public works. “We certainly appreciate how motorists have been cooperating though.”
Originally, the city said that the work, which is expected to cost approximately $800,000, would only be done to the boulevard’s curb lanes. However, workers paved a fair portion of the middle lane as well — not that motorists are complaining. Jackson-Fossett said the workers are looking to strengthen the curb lanes and repair any potholes or defects in the road that are close to those lanes. She added that crews are resurfacing 16 feet out from the curb.
Officials had also said that at least one lane of the boulevard would be open as the work commenced. Eastbound Wilshire Boulevard, though, was entirely closed at times last Saturday. Jackson-Fossett said the median islands made the left lane too narrow to allow traffic. She said sections of the boulevard could be closed again this weekend.
“That’s a possibility,” Jackson-Fossett said. “We have the plan, but when we get out there, sometimes we have to make adjustments. But, always, the plan is to work expediently and safely.”
She said the tentative plan is to pave from Hudson Avenue to Plymouth Boulevard on Sept. 15; from Plymouth Boulevard to Wilton Place on Sept. 16; from Wilton Place to Arden Boulevard on Sept. 22; from Arden Boulevard to La Brea Avenue on Sept. 23; and from La Brea Avenue to Fairfax Avenue on Sept. 29 and 30.
Motorists can cross Wilshire Boulevard at all the major intersections, such as Fairfax Avenue, Wilton Place, La Brea Avenue and Highland Avenue. The alternate route is 8th Street, though 6th Street was also utilized last weekend.
Crews are expected to work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the next three weekends, with Sept. 29 being the final day of the repaving.
Tags | Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, repaving, Wilshire Boulevard
