Councilman: Huntington Resurfacing Project Will Be a Traffic 'Nightmare'

A $1.3 million street resurfacing project along Huntington Drive--which is being paid for with federal stimulus dollars--will be a "nightmare" for traffic congestion and local businesses, a councilman said Tuesday.

The project, slated to begin in late March, will repair a segment of Huntington from Magnolia Avenue to Fifth Avenue. Already busy during rush hour, the boulevard will see its traffic congestion get much worse for the four-month duration of the project, Councilman Joe Garcia said at Tuesday's council meeting.

"It's going to be a nightmare," Garcia said.

The City Council discussed the impact of the project during its regular meeting Tuesday night before awarding a contract worth about $1.3 million to E.C. Construction Co. to perform the work.

Monrovia spokesman Dan Bell said contractors will have to close off one lane at a time along the street, funneling traffic into a single lane along the already highly trafficked thoroughfare.

Damage caused to Huntington from heavy rainfall last year made the project necessary, according to a staff report prepared by Monrovia Public Works Director Ron Bow.

Bell said that Huntington's condition is not "horrible" but added that the city has determined that it needs to be resurfaced.

"You have some uplifting in certain sections; you have some cracks running north and south in certain sections," Bell said. "It's not horrible--definitely around the nation there's worse roads--but this is a project that’s important to us."

Bell said the city is working on a public information campaign to get word out to business owners and residents about the project. Letters will be delivered by hand to businesses, he said.

"We’ll have an aggressive campaign to get the word out on this project and make sure everyone is informed ahead of time," Bell said.

A shorter stretch of Huntington--as well as portions of other streets--will also be repaired as part of the project. Resurfacing work will be done on Huntington from Mountain Avenue to Shamrock Avenue, on Duarte Road from Encino Avenue and Magnolia, and on Grand Avenue from Greystone Avenue to Prospect Avenue.

The $1.3 million bid received for the work was 37 percent lower than the city estimated the project would cost, according to Bow. Money saved from the project will be used to repair sidewalks and other secondary needs along Huntington, Bow said.

The city has created a special e-mail address for people with questions or concerns about the project, Bell said. Comments should be sent to pwcomments@ci.monrovia.ca.us.

Check back on Monrovia Patch for follow-up stories on how the resurfacing project may affect businesses along the route.