Lake LA Road Work Update

Lake Los Angele – Checking with Dale Brown, Department of Public Works Road Maintenance Superintendent at Road Yard #555 in Lake Los Angeles, Dale stated, ““I do not have any new information; however, we are still on track for Avenue O starting in the summertime. And we are starting Phase One paving by the housing tracts as scheduled, to start on Monday, June 19th.”

Preliminary surveying and other work that needs to be completed before the East Avenue O work can be started has been completed with one step left before the first shovel goes into the ground. A project walk has not been held so a firm start date is not available at this time. It is also not known at what point the work will start.

Pavement resurfacing will be funded by SB1 with a cost projection of $1,457,000.00.

On East Avenue O, at 90th Street East and moving eastward to the portion resurfaced by Los Angeles County Public Works to 100th Street East last year, that section of East Avenue O was annexed by the City of Palmdale. Speaking with a spokesperson with the City of Palmdale Public Works that portion is not scheduled to be resurfaced. Where water washed out a section of the road, a fix was applied.

The process will be mill and fill. The motorists in the area are familiar with that process as East Avenue J, 90th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard were also mill and fill.

Mill and fill is a structural pavement treatment that involves the removal of the existing surface layer, and in some cases the entire asphalt pavement thickness, with a milling machine and the replacement of the milled location with new asphalt. This process is used when a surface has deteriorated to poor condition and surrounding grades must be met.

The benefit of mill and fill restores and strengthens a road’s surface layer by restoring the pavement to a “like new” condition. When a road has deteriorated to poor condition, pavement preservation treatments no longer provide long-term improvements and structural reconstruction is required.

The fill sand project on East Avenue O from 120th Street East to 180th Street East began Wednesday April 12, 2023. The goal was to complete a mile a day. The project is completed.

This work was in advance of the upcoming paving on East Avenue O so Roads could backfill the shoulders to the new pavement. This work was a precursor to the pavement new material which is necessary to be ready when the mill and fill starts on East Avenue O.

Road signs will be up announcing the dates of the work to give ample warning to motorists to plan their east west trips accordingly. If there would be a hard closure of the road, those signs will also be put up in advance. The road will remain open during construction with flag persons and pilot car operation.

Points for the traveling public to consider:

• East Avenue O from 120th Street East to 180th Street East will start this summer, 2023.

• Between 100th Street East and 120th Street East, the road maintenance/repair is the responsibility of the City of Palmdale and there are no plans for any work here.

• Please plan your trips around this work and remember it can start a day or two early, depending upon the weather and other contingencies.

By Shirley Harriman