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Public Works outlines major FY26 street, transit and wastewater projects; Felspar transit hub and Mahan widening top list
Summary
Public Works described a $8.9 million-plus street and transit package slated for award, a multi-million-dollar slurry program and continued work to finalize designs for a wastewater treatment plant upgrade; transit will adopt new scheduling software to expand rides.
Public Works staff briefed council on FY25 accomplishments and FY26 projects, reporting a large street/transit package ready for construction and progress on a long-planned wastewater treatment plant upgrade.
Public Works Director Travis said staff will ask council to award an approximately $8.9 million construction contract to build a transit hub and complete the Felspar–Norma corridor: Felspar will be paved from La Paloma to China Lake Boulevard with curb, gutter, sidewalks and a Class 4 bike path; the scope includes a transit hub adjacent to a Mojave View apartment complex and channel repairs with a new large drainage sump to avoid recurring flooding.
Travis said the city aims to widen and improve Mahan (an arterial with safety and shoulder issues) using a combination of city and county right-of-way and state grant funding. Staff reported three separate Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grants awarded this year and an ongoing effort to secure Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) funding for additional miles including a second phase of Mahan and portions of Las Flores and Norma.
Public Works also outlined a $1.0+ million-plus slurry program and street maintenance work (six to seven lane miles completed in recent years) and said it would pilot saw-cutting and asphalt patching before slurry in heavily deteriorated local segments to extend surface life. The department is testing rubberized surfacing in some locations for better thermal performance.
On wastewater, staff said the treatment-plant design is at roughly 99.5 percent and near the percent-design finish; the city's priority is settling electrical and Navy coordination on power before advancing biological studies to avoid losing time-limited environmental clearances. “We have to get that plant to the 90 percent design phase and get it across the finish line,” Travis said, noting funding and sequencing with the pool procurement are considerations.
Transit: the city adopted new dispatch and route-optimization software to replace an older system and expects better reporting and ability to pick up multiple passengers more efficiently; staff forecast ridership could increase with free-fare promotions and improved scheduling.
Ending: Staff asked council to consider the proposed awards and continued grant applications; the work combines major capital corridors, transit facility construction and wastewater upgrades to be phased across FY26–FY27.
