Board approves SB1-funded road list; public speakers urge stronger focus on safety

The Board of Supervisors on June 10 approved a resolution adopting a list of projects to be funded by SB1 (the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017) and a short-term pavement rehabilitation work plan.

Public Works Director Glenn March presented the staff-recommended list and said projects fall into three categories: arterial pavement repairs (for example Knees/LeCerne cutoff and Bottle Rock Road), rehabilitation in communities with the lowest Pavement Condition Index (including Nice and Lucerne), and bridge repairs or replacements for short-span bridges with failed decks.

Public commenters and multiple supervisors asked that safety receive greater weight in project selection. A speaker who reviewed collision records for High Valley Road told the board that available-public datasets underreport non-fatal collisions and urged the county to treat road safety as a top criterion, not only pavement index. Planning and public-comment speakers said some roads are unsafe even if their Pavement Condition Index would not put them at the top of a repaving list.

Supervisor Sabatier asked staff to return with more community outreach and detailed safety analyses; Director March said the department will continue to pursue grants, including a planned Safe Streets and Roads for All application, and will share corridor-level safety proposals when available.

Ending: The board adopted the SB1 project list and the short-term pavement plan by resolution and directed staff to continue developing safety-focused grant applications and to provide more detailed safety metrics at follow-up briefings.