Street Paving

Early heads up

• If your street is scheduled for paving, you will get a notice mailed to your home or business.

Marking the work area

• Crews will treat weeds along the roadway and mark the sections of the street that need special attention, like potholes and cracks. We use temporary spray paint made for this use. 
•  Any current striping is removed. 

Repair cracks and potholes

• If parts of your street have potholes, cracks or other damage, we’ll first make those repairs.
• Watch for “No Parking” signs. You’ll have access to your home/business but may need to park down the street a few times. 
• After this stage, your street might have patches of fresh asphalt and dark lines sealing cracks. You can drive on your street as soon as this work is done. 
• The materials used need a couple of weeks to cure before resurfacing can begin.

72-hour notice of repaving work

• During repaving, street parking will be limited.
• You’ll receive a door hanger at least 72 hours before this stage of the project and will see “No Parking” signs indicating days and hours parking restrictions will be in place.
• In some cases, crews do one side of the street at a time, so your street may not be fully closed.

Prep for paving

• Move your car and turn off irrigation. 
• Work hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (some high traffic areas will be done at night or weekends). 
• If you park in a garage or driveway and need to get out during this time, or if you park along the street, you’ll need to move your car before work starts. 
• In most cases, the street will be ready for driving and parking at the end of each day or when all traffic control devices have been removed. 
• During construction hours, you might need to park one to two blocks away. 

Time to cure

• After the slurry seal is applied, it takes about three weeks to fully cure before it can be painted.
• It’s fine to park and drive on the street while it’s curing.

Cleaning up the “crumbs”

• After the surface is applied, it will “shed” small, crumb-like pebbles of asphalt.
• A street sweeper will come by to clean this up.
• Until then, you may need to sweep your garage or driveway if your car brings in some of this loose material.
• Likewise, if you walk on the street, clean off your shoes at the door so you don’t track these crumbs into your house.

Painting the stripes

• The final step is repainting lane lines, crosswalks, stop sign markers and other street markings.
• Completing all the striping usually takes between two to four weeks. 
• That’s why you will see temporary lane markers right after a street is resurfaced.

How long does it take?

• In most cases, construction will affect driving and parking on your street for one to two days.
• It takes a few weeks to fully cure before stripes can be repainted.

Is the work noisy?

• If we need to make repairs, you might hear a jackhammer and other heavy equipment, but this work shouldn’t last more than a day in the area directly in front of your home or business. 

Could you do my street all at once instead of spreading out the work over several weeks?

• We could, but the surface would still need time to cure in between steps. Curing time for each step is approximately 1 to 2 weeks. 
• Having crews do the repair work first on all streets getting a new surface saves money because materials can be bought in bulk and crews can be scheduled for full days.  
• The same concept applies to painting stripes.

How do you decide what streets get resurfaced and when?

• The city uses something called a “pavement condition index,” which evaluates and prioritizes streets for resurfacing. 
• Our goal is to get the longest possible life out of our streets, which saves money and minimizes inconveniences for the public.

I see streets that seem worse, but they aren’t on this list. Why?

• Slurry seal is used when roads are generally in good condition. This is a surface treatment. 
• In some cases, streets in worse condition might require the top layer to be ground down and a thicker layer of asphalt applied (or even the entire street removed and replaced). This is called pavement rehabilitation. 
• The city has projects to rehabilitate streets using all these methods. It usually makes sense to bid the work by type, which is why the current project focuses on slurry seal only, with minor pavement repairs.

How can I find out when my street will be paved next? 

• Roadway maintenance priorities are regularly evaluated based on pavement conditions, available funding and coordination with other projects happening throughout the city. 
• We also work with utility providers and other agencies to avoid situations where a newly resurfaced street would need to be cut open shortly afterward for water, sewer, gas, telecommunications or other infrastructure improvements.
• Once pavement projects are programmed and construction schedules are confirmed, we’ll share that information. 

What if I have a physical disability that would make it hard to move my car a block or two away?

• If you or someone in your household has a mobility concern that makes it difficult to walk, please contact our construction hotline at construction@sanmarcosca.gov or 760-744-1050, ext 4040. 
• We’ll work with you to coordinate safe, convenient access during the project.

Why are you doing this road work now?

• Warmer months are typically the best time of year for pavement projects because warm, dry weather creates ideal conditions for asphalt and slurry seal materials to be applied and cured properly. 
• It also helps reduce the risk of weather-related delays and allows construction crews to complete work more efficiently. 
• We also coordinate with other road work happening in the area to improve construction efficiency.

Why did work crews paint my sidewalk or front yard?

• As part of the preparation, crews may find a utility that requires repair, replacement or some other problem that needs addressing. 
• Markings on your sidewalk, driveway or front yard could also mean the contractor needs to show crews the location of underground utilities, so they’re protected and not damaged during construction. 
• Paint markings could be anywhere in the city’s “right of way,” which is an area generally around 10 feet from the curb. The city and other public agencies like the water district maintain the right to access this area for infrastructure work.

What is the street sealant made from?

• A mixture of asphalt, fine gravel and water. 

Is the spray paint used for markings safe for the environment?

• Yes, the paint we use was made for this type of project. 
• The contractor is required to remove all markings at the end of project.

Will this work affect trash day pick up or the normal street-sweeping schedule?

• There are no anticipated changes to your regular pickup day or schedule. The contractor will try to avoid scheduling resurfacing work on these days whenever possible.

Will this work affect mail and deliveries?

• Due to the numerous and variety of mail and delivery services, there may be an impact to them. 

How is the work funded? 

• Pavement management is funded through the city’s Capital Improvement Program budget. The money comes from state gas tax revenue, local TransNet funds and fees paid by local trash haulers.

What does resurfacing involve? 

• There are two main types of resurfacing. 

Slurry seal: This process involves removing traffic striping and pavement markings, sealing larger cracks in the pavement surface, applying a thin layer of slurry mixture and restriping the resealed roadway. Slurry mixture generally consists of water, liquid asphalt, small crushed rocks and sand. The finished process won’t look like a brand-new asphalt roadway. However, it’s a cost-effective way to improve drivability and save money by extending the road’s life by five to seven years. This method is less impactful to residents and drivers during the sealing process. 

Overlay: This process includes grinding a couple of inches from the top of the roadway and adding new asphalt over the top before restriping. It’s a more expensive and time-consuming process that results in a new-looking  roadway that will last for years.

Why does work span several weeks?

• Resurfacing and restriping requires several steps with crews returning to the same area multiple times. Please watch for temporary “No Parking” signs.

1. Street marked with temporary spray paint, weeds treated and current striping removed
2. Potholes and cracks repaired; Cures for 3-4 weeks
3. New surface applied; Cures for 3 weeks
4. Street sweeper cleans street before painting
5. New stripes painted. All done!