Council approves street improvement project for 27 blocks of Sierra Way

The San Bernardino City Council approved a contract for street improvements on a twenty-seven-block stretch of Sierra Way between 3rd Street and 30th Street. The contract, awarded on May 4 to I.E. General Engineering of Beaumont, CA in the amount of $2,093,700, will encompass two- and one-half miles of roadway and span three City Council wards (1, 2 and 7).

The project will include pavement replacement and rehabilitation, as well as the installation of ADA accessible ramps and construction of new sidewalks to connect existing gaps.

“Improving two and a half miles of Sierra Way demonstrates our continued commitment to better streets, sidewalks, and disabled accessibility in San Bernardino,” said City Manager Robert D. Field.

Funding for this project will come from Measure I funds, the County sales tax measure passed by voters in 1989 and 2004 for road and transportation improvements.

According to Interim Public Works Director Alex Qishta, work on an additional segment of Sierra Way, between 30th and 40th Streets, is also planned. However, that additional segment, which will also include storm drain work, will not occur until after the completion of this project.

The Sierra Way project was identified and prioritized through a March 2020 pavement management analysis completed by the Public Works Department, which used a scientific methodology to rate the condition of all public streets in San Bernardino and to prioritize their rehabilitation.

This is the fourth major road project approved by the City Council in the past five months with a total cost of $15.8 million. In December 2021, a $2.6 million contract was awarded to Onyx Paving Company for rehabilitation work on seven city streets. In February 2022, the City Council awarded a $4.7 million contract for nine streets to All American Asphalt. The most recent contract, approved by the Council on March 16, was awarded to the Matich Corporation in the amount of $6.4 million and encompasses segments of fourteen streets. Work on each of these projects is currently underway.

Work is expected to begin in June and be completed by October 2022.