Similar to a doctor examining a patient, the Long Beach Public Works Department oversees a series of measures called the Pavement Management Program, which examines each of the city’s streets.
The program then diagnoses each street with a specific condition and organizes construction projects to improve the streets.
California Avenue is one of the various improvement projects the City is currently working on— specifically, the strip of road between East Willow and East Spring streets. Vehicle access on the road has been limited, however full through-traffic use of the road will be reinstated as soon as the pavement process is complete in the coming weeks, Crumby said.
Signal Hill and Long Beach City officials came together to improve California Avenue, which sits on the border of the two municipals.
“The project was based on need,” Crumby said. “The funding was secured, and the two cities went forward to deliver.”
The monetary support of a $900,000 federal grant allowed the City of Long Beach to lead in the renovation of California Avenue.
There is a series of factors that determine the classification of a city’s street. Crumby told the Signal Tribune during a phone interview that California Avenue is classified as an “arterial” street, or collector street, due to its high volume of traffic flow.
The ability to drive onto East Willow Street from California Avenue has been closed off throughout the duration of the construction. Entry to the EDCO Recycling and Transfer Center had little to no impact on business operations, according to an EDCO official.
Members of the Long Beach Islamic Center quickly adapted to the closure of certain streets as a result of the improvement process, according to Imam Tarek Mohamed, the center’s board president.
“The City is trying to do its best,” Mohamed said. “On Fridays, [members] park far away, but we are patient. It doesn’t bother me. We know that we have to work with the City.”
Crumby said the project will soon be entering a phase called “curing the asphalt.” This process allows the fresh asphalt to harden so construction workers can then paint on road signage. According to Crumby, the project has been going along on budget and schedule.
“It’s been a smooth project overall,” he said.
