Hermosa Beach Pavement Management update: city must nearly double annual funding to hold current pavement condition; Pier Avenue paving scheduled for April

Public Works staff presented Hermosa Beach’s updated pavement management plan (PMP) and recommended increasing annual pavement funding to stabilize street conditions.

Senior engineer Hee Cho Kwon said the latest PMP (field observations October 2024; report completed January 2025) puts the citywide average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) at about 68, down from 70 in the 2021 study. The PMP maps condition by segment and models four funding scenarios. At the city’s current approximate annual pavement spending of $1.5 million, the model projects a decline in average PCI; to hold the PCI at its present level (68) the city would need about $3.1 million per year over the next 10 years (roughly $31 million total). Under an “unlimited” funding scenario the consultant estimated a 10-year total of about $42.3 million that would raise average PCI into the mid-80s; a “do nothing” scenario would see PCI fall into the failed range.

Kwon summarized standard treatment thresholds: crack sealing and slurry/chip seals are cost-effective for higher PCI ranges (commonly >60–70); grinding and overlay are used for mid-range PCI; full reconstruction is recommended below PCI ~25. He also provided the city network inventory: about 6.8 miles of arterial streets, 10.3 miles of collectors, roughly 30 miles of local streets and 0.5 miles of alleyways (about 47.6 miles total in the city network assessed).

Director Joe San Clemente emphasized the PMP is a planning tool—a snapshot in time that must be combined with field observations and planned utility work. “PMPs change quickly,” he said. “It is a planning tool. We try to look at corridors and combine that with planned utility projects so we don’t dig twice.” San Clemente noted the department recently purchased crack-sealing equipment to perform more maintenance in-house and that crews perform hundreds of pothole repairs annually.

The commission discussed prioritization (arterials and collectors generally prioritized because of higher traffic) and tradeoffs between fixing the worst streets now versus investing in maintenance on “good” streets to avoid later costly reconstruction. Commissioners asked for more detail on how the notional 10-year scenarios map to specific work in each year; staff said the consultant generated the scenario maps and that additional appendix-level tables were available from the consultant on request.

Staff reported contract-award and scheduling details for immediate paving work: at the Feb. 25 City Council meeting the city awarded a contract (approximately $3.2 million) covering Pier Avenue, Lot A, Valley Drive and other priority residential streets (including Power Street). Pier Avenue was scheduled for mobilization the week of April 7 with anticipated grinding and overlay activities the following week; staff said they expect to compress active work into a short window (grinding ~2 days, paving ~2 days in each split area) and to retain two-way traffic on Pier Avenue during the work. Nearby businesses that have street dining decks will need to remove and store those structures during the paving work; staff said they are discussing temporary sidewalk dining permits for businesses that request them.

Staff also described coordination needs: the Pavement Management Plan is used alongside knowledge of upcoming utility projects (Cal Water, LA County Sanitation District, sewer/storm drain work) to sequence paving and minimize rework. Commissioners and staff agreed the city should aim to secure more stable annual funding to avoid a long-term decline in pavement condition. The commission received the report for discussion and comment; no formal policy change or funding appropriation was made at this meeting.