Remember the traffic delays on Mitchell Road last summer? Get ready to experience them again with another round of street overlays.

Paving is expected to commence soon now that the Ceres City Council has approved 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.

While there will be no construction schedule until the city and contractor meet, City Engineer Toby Wells said the city wants to get construction started by the end of the month, through July and perhaps part of August. 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.