Construction Project Updates_mixdown.mp3

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Katie:
Welcome back to the City of Reading Podcast. Big things are happening in Redding with infrastructure projects everywhere you look. We have a new roundabout that's being constructed on Bertelli and bond of view next to the new Costco Shopping Center and the railroad crossing project picks back up on Girvan and 273 after delays due to some supply chain issues.

Steve:
Over at the airport, some new pavement is being installed and there's more exciting upgrades on the horizon. On Plaza Street by Magnolia Park, a new sewer upgrade project will be starting shortly as well. Also, what exactly is the capital project and how are they funded? In this episode, we'll connect with City of Redding construction manager Josh Anthony to get information and updates on these and many other city construction projects kicking off this summer.

Katie:
It's a good general reminder that driving slow in the cone zone keeps drivers and construction workers safe. So as you see changes happening around town, be sure to slow down, pay attention and appreciate the good things coming.

Josh:
My name is Josh Anthony. I am the construction manager of the Public Works Division for the City of Redding. What I primarily do is I oversee a team of construction professionals that oversee all of our capital improvement programs. And we also have a team of inspectors and construction professionals that oversee the private land development projects we have in the city. So subdivisions, commercial developments. We also, with our capital improvement program do the private land development. I have a team of construction inspectors that inspect the new residential complexes we are building, as well as the private commercial development going on in the city all the way down to the residential encroachment permits, grading permits around the city.

Katie:
Great. Thanks, Josh. And we've been hearing at the city a lot about the capital improvement projects that are happening, and there's a lot of them that have either already started or starting this summer. Can you just tell us what is a capital improvement project?

Josh:
Sure. Capital improvement projects are exactly what it sounds like. So capital improvements, these are improvements to all of the public facilities throughout the city, whether that be sidewalks, most commonly roadways, utilities, whether it's wastewater, water or electricity. All of these public use facilities, including parks, all fall under the category of capital improvement.

Steve:
And Josh, it sounds like there's a plethora of capital projects both in the works. And I'm sure that list is endless for the ones that haven't yet been funded or started. How is it decided which ones get priority? And I guess funding around those projects.

Josh:
There's many different aspects which make a project priority for our grant funded projects. So something like the Shasta railroad crossing, all of our bridge projects like the East Side Road Bridge, the current Churn Creek, Magnolia Highway Safety Improvements Project, these are all grant funded projects. They all are getting their money either from Caltrans or the Federal Highway Administration. So these projects all have timelines and deadlines of when the money has to be spent, when the design needs to be complete, when construction needs to be complete. So those are more structured on a timeline basis. But a lot of our utility projects, like the current California Utility Project, the upcoming Magnolia Sewer, there's an East Cypress Box Culvert project that we have coming up. Those utility projects are based on the wear and tear of the utility themselves. So in these areas, these are aging utilities, and aging utilities are subject to brakes and problems of their own. So the utility projects just come up on a maintenance or a it's a problem area that we need to take care of before it gets worse. So the utility side of it is a little bit different than the grant side of it. The projects like the I-5 ramps and the Bonnyview Roundabout and the Loma Vista Bechelli, Loma Vista Signal Project are more tied to the commercial development going on in the area. Those projects were designed to be done prior to large development happening down there. We already have some development on the east side of the five with the Save Mart and that shopping center. But then the new Costco site brings its own influx of people. So these roadway projects are being completed ahead of that growth, and that's very common across the city of Redding, where we try to get out in front of these big commercial developments.

Katie:
And Josh, I just wanted to dive into a couple of these projects and just get a quick update on what's going on, on some of the big ones that people may be aware of. If I started with Girvan, what was that project all about? Where are we today and when can people expect that one to be completed?

Josh:
One of my favorite projects. Is the given road project. So the project itself was designed to create better sight distance to actually raise 273 for the railroad crossing at Girvan. For years and years and years there was always a common problem with trucks getting hung up on the tracks. And if you're familiar with that area, you know what I'm talking about. So one of our major goals of that project was to raise the highway up to the level of the railroad crossing so that the trucks would no longer get hung up there. We've completed that work. The other big goal of that project was 273/Girvan West Side Intersection Signal, coordinating and connecting that to the railroad crossing equipment. This was a huge effort by Caltrans and Union Pacific and the city of Redding to come together and design an electrical system that all works together so that as a train is approaching way out in the distance, the actual light itself will begin. It was what we call preemptive timing, and we'll start cycling the light through to get people across the railroad tracks so there's nobody stuck on the railroad tracks. So those were the main goals of the project so far. To date, we have completed the road raising of 273 and, and the work on East Side Road and Girvan to facilitate a new traffic pattern that will be in that area and be ready for the signals.

Josh:
So the biggest holdup and we began that project last year and it has been a tough, tough year for construction materials and getting them. And so the holdup has been the electrical equipment for the two pieces of Union Pacific and Caltrans to talk to one another. So Caltrans has been right there ready with their stuff. The railroad has just had some some difficult issues as a lot of contractors and organizations have had over the last year. That has been our holdup. But I can tell you, we have confirmed that the Union Pacific has their equipment and we will be resuming construction at the beginning of June and our expected completion as they work through to do all of the electrical work and new signal work. We are hoping and shooting for finishing sometime in August finally get that project finished and that will lead into, as I kind of alluded to earlier, our East Side Road Bridge project, which will be kind of opposite end of the spectrum. But what we'll be able to do is get people out of the Girvan neighborhood back at the signal, so then we can unfortunately impact them on East Side Road. But again, this is an aging bridge that will need to be replaced. So but we want to get Girvan finished first before we or we impact that area anymore.

Steve:
Great. Thanks, Josh. That sounds exciting. Next up, if we could touch on the Bonnyview area, there's really two projects going on, both the southbound view I-5 interchange project and then the upcoming roundabout at South Bonnyview and Bechelli. Can you touch on those?

Josh:
Sure. So the first project we began over there is the south Bonnyview I-5 interchange ramps project goal of this project. And again, we are partnered with Caltrans and we are adding an additional lane to the southbound off ramp to help facilitate the influx of vehicular traffic coming into the new Costco area. The Costco development there on the northwest side of the interchange will bring an influx of travelers, locals, vehicular traffic. So the overall study that was done previously by the city identified that the ramps would need to be widened both northbound and southbound off ramps of I-5. So the goal of that project is just to provide more capacity for vehicles as they're exiting the freeway to come to these developments, not just the Costco, but also the east side where the Save Mart is. So that project too is also adding retaining walls on the northbound off ramp, which will allow us to widen the freeway on the off ramp on that side. And then again, working with Caltrans and this is a grant Caltrans funded project. So the city contributed, but for the most part, Caltrans is funding Caltrans is overseeing the project. That project started in April and we expect it to be complete by latest August. However, it's the contractor is J.F Shay and they are very good contractor and they are planning and working hard to finish, hopefully sooner than expected. So that project will be a great addition to then the now started roundabout project, which is at South Bonnyview and Bechelli, and that project was again part of a study done maybe 5 to 8 years ago where we looked at the overall whole area with new residential potential residential growth.

Josh:
With new potential commercial growth. Of that area of Redding and decided that a roundabout at that location would be the most efficient way and safest way to get a new influx of people through that intersection. Roundabouts. Typically, our proven the data suggests that they are safer. You have less T-Bone collisions and you at worst have side by side collisions. So it will improve the safety of that intersection. It also provides a slower approach to it, which will reduce speeds in the area. Again, making it safer and roundabouts are proven that they do actually move traffic through faster than a typical standard stoplight. So with all of this in mind, with again, with the influx of potential growth in the area, we slated this project and that project we began beginning of this last month and we will finish by November of this year. But again, we have another great contractor, Tullis, Inc, who will be working on that project for us. And they are going to push hard to finish early again themselves to get the project done well ahead of any commercial growth coming in there. So these are big projects for the city of Redding and stuff we're very excited about. It's new and different for people and we understand the hesitation. But these projects are a great benefit to the city and and we're hoping once they're all finished, people will be able to stand back at the finished product and get through that intersection faster and and really enjoy that versus sitting in a standard stoplight.

Katie:
Roundabouts are a big change for our community in general. And this roundabout, as you've described, is going to be quite large. Is there another roundabout around town that people could mentally reference? Is there a similar roundabout that they can think about as a reference point for this one?

Josh:
Yeah, absolutely. So this will be a two lane roundabout, which is a larger roundabout. Currently, we have the Shasta View roundabout, but the most similar roundabout to this would be the Deschutes I-5 roundabout down in Anderson. That is a two lane, a roundabout and that actually has more legs, which are the roadways coming in is what we call them in traffic is the legs coming in and it has more than what we'll have. So ours, while similar in configuration with a two lane configuration, will have a few less legs, which makes it a little bit easier to navigate as you're coming in at 90 degree angles. So that's the easiest example of people are familiar with that navigating that they will be able to go and I would say go ahead and go down there and test drive theirs if you haven't seen one of those before. So just to familiarize yourself with the idea.

Steve:
How do you balance making sure that's the least amount of disruption for commuters or for travelers in the area with those of the needs of the of the crews that are working as far as do work in the evenings? Do you work overnight? Is it during the day and you just kind of make a combinations? How does that process work and what's the strategy behind that?

Josh:
Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, our strategy is to be at least impactful as possible whenever we're doing construction. So in the particular case of the The Roundabout Project, this most of the work will be done at night. Any lane closures or lane shifts will be will be handled at night. The traffic will be open during the day. We want to make sure we're getting people through to and from to their destinations. Everybody's got to go to work just like the rest of us. So we want to make sure people are able to get through those areas as well as keeping the crew safe. It's safer for our crews to work at night in these high traffic areas like this and on Girvan. I know a lot of people saw that last summer. You know, having our guys at night, it keeps them safer because there is less traffic during the midnight hours. So that that for us is always a key if we can do it at night. Now, obviously, there are extra costs as the biggest thing to work at night. But by putting these projects out and stipulating these things during the bid process, the contractors are able to go ahead and balance that cost, safety, everything that's involved, which really gives the taxpayers of Redding the best product that we can give them with getting them through the construction areas while also keeping the construction crews safe.

Katie:
And so now if I can ask the probably $10 million question here that I'm sure everybody is wondering, this roundabout that's going in there is adjacent to the Costco area and the new Costco development. Can you give us any updates on where we are with where Costco is, at least with with their project?

Josh:
Absolutely. So so yes, the Costco project, what we call the frontage work or the curb, gutter and sidewalk along the frontage of Bachelli and Bonnyview. They have been working on that since, oh, about the fall of last year and they have now completed all of the frontage improvements. So along that stretch, the curb, gutter and sidewalks finish all the entrances to the new. Go. They actually began the onsite construction of the Costco building itself. They have an aggressive schedule and are going to be working very, very hard to get the project done. Unfortunately, we don't know when they're going to finish. They keep those things under wraps. And we we don't know when they're going to open, but we will be approving all of the between all of our departments, one of our public works department, which will have all of the utilities and like I said, all of that frontage stuff to the building department and to dealing with those and the planning department. So all of our departments are all working together to get that Costco built. There's going to be some really cool things as they're building it, and we'll have the new gas station there. So they're there, like I said, began construction on it and they're pushing hard and and hopefully sometime either later this year or early next year, maybe in the spring, we'll have ourselves a brand new Costco.

Steve:
Well, I'm sure folks will be quite excited about that. Josh, maybe if we can jump east from Bechelli. You mentioned the Redding Airport earlier. Obviously, the airport itself has seen some tremendous growth over the past year or two. Can you talk to us a little bit about the road work that's happening there, both the current project and what to look forward to next as well?

Josh:
Absolutely. So the airport man getting major facelifts over the last handful of years. I know years ago the feels almost a decade ago they did a big facelift to the terminal itself. But we're finally actually getting to do what and the technical terms, what they call the land side, they have the airside and the land side. So if you're out on the tarmac, you're airside. If you're out on the road, you're the land side. So we're able to complete some of these landside projects, again, using federal FAA money that the FAA has granted to us. And we are we have just finished the new road section in front of the airport, all new striping. We've got some new sidewalk, we've got new ADA ramps leading to and from the terminal to make it safer for people to cross the road and moves into all of the parking lot which will have future, future growth, possibly a temporary parking lot that we're working on right now as the airport is getting busy and busy and and we're here in that parking lot is full every single work weekend which is fantastic people using the new flights which we tell everybody fly redding if you can do it, fly redding, it just helps permit more growth and more people we can get taking those flights. The more that the airlines will stick around and we can have great destinations like Vegas and Burbank and Seattle.

Josh:
So this growth and there's other exciting, great, exciting projects that are in the pipeline for the airport that are currently being scoped for design to the possibility of a second terminal at the airport to a more runway space, redoing the runways as we have the bigger, heavier planes that are going to be landing there. And so that that whole area with the with the road work we completed our second phase of roadwork will pick up right where that left off. And we will work replacing the asphalt new striping all the way out on almost the airport. We're going to finish that loop before we do the actual entrance. The entrance to the airport will get a it will be a separate project. But we're going to finish the as we call it, the loop there. There'll be new signage, new striping. It's going to look really, really nice. So it's going to hopefully to get more pedestrians coming off of airport, we'll have a better facility to get into the airport. So that's that's kind of the second phase of the project. And we are hoping to begin that project depending on we're waiting for FAA approval just on the final paperwork documents, but we're hoping to start that project, get under construction in August and complete that project before Christmas.

Katie:
Awesome. The next project that I kind of wanted to touch on, I'm not sure if people are really aware that this project is coming up, but you mentioned it as the Magnolia Sewer Project, but this actually really does go down Placer Street. Can you tell us what that project is all about? And some elements that there could be some big changes to that section of plaster. What can people expect for that area? When do they expect to start work for that project?

Josh:
Absolutely. Yeah. So we we've already awarded that project to that project has been awarded to Jason Abell construction out of Corning, California. They will be replacing the main sewer lines down Placer starting at the top of the hill at Airpark, running all the way down to Oregon Street. They'll also be doing the side sermons as it come off on Chestnut, on Magnolia, on Willis, as well as work on Court Street, closer to Tehama and Yuba and work on Organ Street between Shasta and Yuba Street. So this project will replace all the old sewer mains and sewer laterals to businesses and residential, as well as we'll be replacing the water main that runs down plaza at the same time, as well as some storm drain pipe that runs in Placer once we're complete with all of the utility work. We will then go back and we are going to pave Placer. We're going to pay Placer from Court Street all the way up to Pleasant. And some people don't know where that is, but that's the 7-Eleven, past the airport past, Benton up there. We're going to repave, we're going to stripe. And the plan is to add bike lanes and add a center turn lane. If you've ever traveled on Placer and you need to make a left on the Magnolia or one of those side streets, we all know how dangerous it can be. And there's numerous accidents that always happen on that road where people aren't paying attention.

Josh:
They rear end somebody. So we're going to add a designated center turn lane to help facilitate all those left turns on and off of Placer to again try and make it safer for the community, as well as adding the bike lanes for active transportation. So if somebody wants to get overzealous and go for a nice mountain ride up the Placer hill, we will provide that facility for you to do it. And we're very excited about this. The project is a long project as there's a lot involved and it is a bigger project for us. The project is valued at 6.3 million, which is a little bit large for the city of Redding. And so we will be working. The project is slated to start here first part of June and we will go into May of next year. It's almost a one year project, so it will take some time to complete all of that underground work, some of which will be open trench method and some of which will be pipe bursting, which is a fantastic, less intrusive way to reinstall utilities, existing utilities in the ground. So we're going to be doing a combination. The contractor will be doing a combination of both and we are very excited to get that area upgraded. It has been for years some problem area. So we're excited to get old infrastructure out, get new infrastructure in so people aren't having sewage backups into their houses anymore and aren't having water lines break and they're without water for hours and hours.

Josh:
So this project will be highly beneficial to that area, but there will be some construction pains as we go through it. And so Placer, as we're doing that work, which is a bulk of the work, will be subject to traffic control. So we we're hoping people as you go through that area and and I myself am a daily driver on Placer that if you can if we can implore people to slow for the cone zone and protect our workers out there. You know, we all have everybody's got a family to go home to, just like everybody else. So when we're doing that work, we'll ask people to either avoid it if you can. There are some easy detour routes with Eureka Way and going down way Buenaventura, but if you have to go through that way, just please mind the construction and try and try and be as safe for everyone as if it was your own family out there. But again, we're very excited for this project. I excited to get it done. Sighted to get Plaza repaved as it has been very chopped up over the years with many utility projects. So this will be another very good project for the city.

Steve:
Thanks, Josh. You know, we've talked about a couple of projects. Obviously, there's there's many, many more and folks can go to city of Redding dot org slash construction projects for some more information on these as well as as well as some of those others. I'm curious for you personally, which project are you looking forward to the most of of being completed and why?

Josh:
Well, my project that I'm the most excited about and we haven't discussed it and it's it's kind of a project that gets I don't know, it's in the backs of people's minds, but it's my my own personal history. And the where I come from as far as my background will be the actual Clear Creek Water Treatment Pyrolysis project. This is a great project for the City of Redding. This project in itself, it's down at the Clear Creek Water Treatment Plan. I know most people, they don't know where that is and they don't know where anything goes when they flush the toilet. But everything that goes into the sewer goes to either one of two of our treatment plants, the Clear Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, or the Stillwater Wastewater Treatment Plant. And this project will take the solids that are that are in the sewer and it will actually incinerate them. Hence the name Pyro Pyrolysis, to which once these things have been incinerated, the city will no longer have to haul them off. The byproducts that we'll get from this, which would be methane, gas and carbon, the the leftover materials, the city will actually be able to sell these materials to get money back to the taxpayers. Our ultimate hope that sewer no longer will need to get their rates raised. I mean, this is this is our goal and plan. And we're hoping it comes to fruition. But this project is one of the coolest projects. And again, it's off the major radar. So not a lot of people will see it. But it is technology that is very little across the United States.

Josh:
So the city of Redding will be I believe it's one in a handful in the entire state of California that will have this new technology and we'll be able to, again, pass whatever savings that we're able to get out of this project to the people. So this project is is finishing up its design at this point. We actually are the city right now we are out to look for. We have an RFP out for consultant to manage the project as it is a unique project and we should be advertising for construction by mid to late summer. So we're hoping to begin into the year and have this thing up and operational by next summer. So again, for me, this is this is close to my heart. This is my experience where I come from in the treatment plant world. So I'm very excited and it is a project that the city will be very proud of. Our sewer collections team has done a great job and they they finished first for medium sized collection system this year and with having, I think almost no incidents. And I think we finished something top top five nationally. So this again will booster our sewer system and these projects again, these these utility projects. Redding is a is an older city like a lot in California that needs to have this infrastructure redone so that with new technology and just new new material, we're able to do projects like these. So I'm very excited about this.

Katie:
I agree. Josh, I think this is such a cool project and actually we're going to be having more podcasts on this topic with the various stakeholders in this whole project, because it really is something that highlights because the city is a full service city and has all the utilities, the ability for the utilities to work together to make this happen really is quite special. So we're going to be talking more about this project as it comes up here in the future. But back to construction. What's a question you've been getting a lot recently that you would like to communicate to the public?

Josh:
So one of the one of the major things that we we get we get inquiries about is when we're doing our paving projects. So annually we do two projects we shoot annually. This year we will actually are shooting for three is our road replacement project. So we do what we call a replace AC where we go out and actually replace section of road. Currently the project is going on on Shasta View and Twin View, we are replacing large sections of those roads and during the course of these constructions there's a method of construction that has to be done, which we call lowering the iron. So a lot of people inquire and we get these questions about they see what looks to be a pothole. Well, what that pothole is, in fact, is actually the it is either a manhole or a valve box or some other utility buried utility that it comes to the surface and we have to lower that iron. And then we put cold patch asphalt back over the top of it. And then so when we do that, so when we come through and we grind off the top layer of asphalt for the fresh layer to bind to that we don't take out the manhole or the valve box that's in that area. So we lower them to get them out of the way and then come back through and raise them back up once the final asphalt has been laid. So when people are driving around town, one of the things they'll see, they'll see a pothole that looks not fully completed.

Josh:
Well, it's not a pothole or we're going to come back to it. We're going to complete it, and everything will be back to its normal driving surface once the project is complete. So if I could implore people, just as they're driving around to see it and and be happy to call me and we can discuss it and I'll walk you through how it all works. But that's that is one of the things that if people could can recognize and again, you'll see this on the Roundabout project, you'll see this on on the major roadway projects. Anything we do, you'll see these sunken areas while construction is going on, all the ultimate product is to come back and do a pavement layer so we get a fresh layer. So the Magnolia Sewer Project, later this year, you will see this before it gets paved back. So that's that's one thing that we'd like to share with the public. And then again, the other thing is just being being safe and aware in construction zones. You know, this is a world of a lot of distracted drivers out there. So just safety is key, you know. And Caltrans slogan, slow for the cone zone that they came up with years and years ago is one of the greatest things we we implore people to if you can avoid the area, fantastic. If you can't, that's fine, too. But just please be safe and you drive to the area.

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