Work has begun on this summer's resurfacing of Mitchell Road.

Construction crews have been chiseling out old concrete sidewalk corners along Mitchell Road between the Walmart entrance and Whitmore Avenue and putting in place new forms for modified sidewalk corners. City Engineer Toby Wells said the new corners will be sloped and grooved to make the sidewalks in conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since it is a federally funded project.

Concrete was poured this week.

Once sidewalks are done, work moves next to resurfacing Mitchell Road which will involve grinding, which Wells called a "loud, dirty messy process." The work will also include lowering valves and manholes. Wells said the heavy duty activity will commence around July 10 and be occurring at night as much as possible to minimize impacts on traffic.

The plan is to wrap up by the middle of August.
The work is being done through a $881,470 contract with George Reed paving contractor. With a 10 percent contingency, the project could top out at $969,617.

The city is doing an asphalt overlay of Mitchell Road from the Walmart entrance to Whitmore Avenue and will be using rubberized asphalt which is being partially funded by Cal Recycle in the amount of $175,500.

The project calls for a 45-day construction window.
Wells said that as a general rule of thumb, a typical street overlay lasts about 15 years but noted that Mitchell Road is well traveled with 40,000 cars per day which reduces asphalt life.

The city is reconstructing Mitchell Road in phases due to the high cost. Last year the city performed an overlay of Mitchell from the Tuolumne River bridge to Hatch Road.
The third phase will involve an overlay south of Whitmore Avenue but federal funding may not be snagged in time for next summer, Wells said.