CLEARLAKE — Construction on Highway 53 in the Clearlake area is expected to resume this month.
According to Caltrans District 1 Public Information Officer Phil Frisbie, construction was temporarily suspended because of financial problems experienced by the original contractor, Sierra Equipment Rental.
Sierra Equipment Rental”s bonding company is working with Caltrans to award a new contract. Frisbie said the low bidder is Teichert Construction, a contractor Caltrans hired on an emergency basis to ensure the project met water quality standards during the winter. Frisbie said the company should be able to begin work this month.
The project, which addresses safety issues in the area, will result in wider shoulders, extension of some existing left-turn pockets, and the addition of left- and right-turn pockets in some areas. The project area begins just north of 40th Avenue and continues up to near Highway 20.
Frisbie said construction is about 50 percent complete, with reference to the project”s timeline. “It”s likely by this fall people will see all the major earthwork and wider shoulders completed but because of the weather, paving will be completed next spring,” he added.
The project includes the addition of a stoplight, which was installed on Highway 53 at the Olympic Drive intersection.
Frisbie said the stoplight couldn”t be activated because the new and longer turn lanes are not complete.
“Activating the signal before the other improvements are completed could create unsafe conditions,” he said. “(Caltrans) will ask Teichert to complete that area as soon as they can.”
For more information regarding Caltrans projects in Lake County, visit the website at www.dot.ca.gov/dist1.
