Our last bulletin was focused primarily on the major traffic reconfiguration that was implemented a couple of weeks ago.
While some guidance improvements have been made since that time, such as the application of arrows on the new lanes indicating which path to follow for various turns, there are still bugs being worked out.
Another major clarification will be the painting of lane striping on First at the intersections with Main and Pacific, along with the striping of the lanes over the old bridge.
These couldn’t be done until there was a window of dry weather and so now the contractor finally has an opening and has scheduled it for Thursday and Friday of this week. During this painting operation, the bridge will again be reduced to one lane with flaggers.
The next major element in the construction will be the pulling of the old wooden pilings and setting three new casings for the east half of the replacement bridge commencing tomorrow. Setting each casing will require 16-to-18 hour days starting at low tide with a couple of days between for curing and preparation of the next one. So with one being set every third day, these should be complete by next week this time.
In the meantime, the old storm drain outfall for the downtown will be installed next Monday with the old outfall being pulled shortly thereafter, and work will continue on the Pacific Avenue sidewalk area next to Homelife Furniture.
There have been several inquiries regarding the USPS Box next to the Courthouse that had to be removed as part of the traffic reconfiguration. While it was initially believed that this could be replaced in the next year when the traffic shifts to the other side of the street, it has been discovered that even after the project is entirely completed, that box will not be able to go back in that same location due to the final lane alignment being too close to the curb. Alternative permanent locations are being sought.