El Segundo Boulevard Rehabilitation Project

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works continues its commitment to preserving and improving the quality of the road system in a cost effective and environmentally responsible way by utilizing the three prong sustainable approach. The approach incorporates principles that (1) maintain roads that are in good condition, first; (2) use recycled materials; and (3) reutilize existing materials in-place. The El Segundo Boulevard Project showcases the benefits of this sustainable approach. El Segundo Boulevard is a major roadway located in the County unincorporated area near the City of Compton. Approximately 1.5 miles of pavement was in poor to failed condition. The objective of the project was to rehabilitate the entire section. The scope of work involved rehabilitating the roadway by milling off 1.5 inches of the existing pavement then recycling the next 3 inches using a cold in-place recycling (CIR) treatment. CIR is a process that removes and resizes the existing material, mixes with asphalt emulsion to rejuvenate the existing material, then repaves the new mixture uniformly back onto the roadway in one continuous operation. After the CIR process was completed, 1.5 inches of asphalt rubber hot mix was placed over the CIR asphalt concrete pavement. CIR was selected as it is sustainable, more efficient, and less costly. Reutilizing the existing pavement in-place eliminated the need to export and import pavement material from and to the project site, resulting in less environmental impact, shortened construction time, minimized road closures, and mitigated the need to quarry tons of virgin material. The CIR pavement rehabilitation cost for the project was $983,000 ($1.76 per square foot). When compared to a conventional hot mix alternative, CIR resulted in a cost savings of approximately $300,000. In addition to being cost effective, CIR reduced energy consumption by 76%, greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions by 78%, and landfill use by 2,100 cubic yards. In addition, as part of the stormwater treatment best management practices, approximately 1,100 linear feet of landscaped and bio-filtration swales were installed along the north side of El Segundo Boulevard. Storm runoff enter the bioswales through curb openings where they drain through imported soil mix then into a six inch perforated pipe that is connected to nearby catch basins. The bioswales result in the reduction of surface pollutant going into Compton Creek and the Los Angeles River. In summary, the project preserved and improved the overall quality of the road system in a cost effective and environmentally responsible way. The County’s commitment to sustainable projects like the El Segundo Boulevard addresses existing funding shortfalls, meets the objectives of AB32 of reducing GHG emissions, and improves water quality. The El Segundo Boulevard was the 9th CIR project successfully completed by the County in the last 5 years and is a testament of a proven model for other agencies to adopt.