LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A successful partnership between the Robinson Rancheria and the Lake County Department of Public Works, coupled with a grant from the state of California, has resulted in the rehabilitation of the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff.
“The primary purpose of the project was to repair Nice-Lucerne Cutoff and provide the safest travel possible. Through the partnership with Robinson we significantly increased the extent of those repairs.” said Scott De Leon, director of Lake County Public Works.
In 2011, representatives of Robinson Rancheria approached the county about using Indian Reservation Road funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Federal Highway Administration to improve the condition of the cutoff.
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington is pleased with the success of the project.
“During these lean economic times, the county needs to take a creative approach to funding,” Farrington said. “Working in partnership with Robinson Rancheria is an outstanding example of pooling resources to get much-needed work completed that otherwise would not be possible.”
Phase I was completed in the fall of 2011. The county road crew performed extensive “digout” repairs and shoulder work to create a strong foundation for future rehabilitation.
To complete phase II, the county applied for and received a grant from CalRecycle in 2012. The Rubberized Pavement Grant provided funding which allowed the county to use rubberized asphalt – which includes ground tire rubber blended with asphalt binder and aggregate materials – to surface the road.
“With the addition of the CalRecycle rubberized asphalt grant the project will require less long-term maintenance, reduces vehicle tire noise, and uses scrap tires in the asphalt which reduces the amount of tires in landfills,” said Lake County Assistant Director of Public Works Lars Ewing.
Phase II was recently completed under contract by Granite Construction and included an asphalt overlay of Nice-Lucerne Cutoff and a reconstruction of the bridge approaches to provide for a smoother transition onto and off of the bridge deck.
The county of Lake also has just finished the rehabilitation of Lakeshore Boulevard in the north end of Lakeport, utilizing funds from the county’s construction vehicle road impact fee and a second grant from CalRecycle for the use of rubberized asphalt on that project.