Moraga council authorizes pavement restoration agreement with PG&E after utility trenching on recently repaved streets

MORAGA, Calif. — The Moraga Town Council unanimously authorized the town manager on Sept. 10 to execute a pavement restoration release agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) after the utility cut and trenched streets that had recently been repaved under a town paving moratorium.

Town senior engineer Nate Levine told the council the PG&E work was part of a planned improvement that occurred north of where Canyon splits off from Moraga Road and along Country Club Drive. He said PG&E completed multiple phases of trenching and restoration required by the town's encroachment-permit conditions.

Levine said the town determined the final phase proposed by PG&E — a microsurfacing or slurry coat — “doesn't improve the road quality or extend the useful life cycle” for the newly repaved streets. He said staff negotiated a payment from PG&E instead of immediate microsurfacing so the town can apply the funds toward future paving work when it is most needed.

Levine said the utility is required to make a large cut and restore two to four feet beyond the trench to rebuild structurally sound material, and that the roadway is in good structural condition after PG&E's restoration. He said the town considers aesthetics too but prioritized durable restoration that avoids future maintenance problems.

Council members asked whether all recently repaved streets are under similar moratoriums and how the moratoria differ. Levine said moratorium lengths vary by street class — arterials and collectors typically have longer moratoria than residential streets — and staff coordinates with utilities to try to schedule work before the town's paving projects. He said utilities are not always obligated to do so.

The motion to authorize the town manager to execute the pavement restoration release agreement was moved and seconded on the record and passed unanimously.

Staff said the arrangement is documented through the encroachment-permit process and represents an attempt to secure the most useful product for the town and residents rather than accepting an immediate surface treatment that staff judged premature.