Fulton Road Reconstruction – Occidental Road to W. 3rd Street

Location

Fulton Road between Occidental Road and W. 3rd Street

City or County Responsible for Project

City of Santa Rosa

Category

Roads: Efficient and Sustainable Road Maintenance, Construction and Reconstruction Projects.

Author

Greg Dwyer

Organization

City of Santa Rosa

Address

69 Stony Circle, Santa Rosa, CA 95405

Phone

707-543-3838

Project Description

The City of Santa Rosa’s “Fulton Road Reconstruction” project between Occidental Road and W. 3rd Street repaired approximately 3,200 lineal feet of 4-lane principal arterial pavement and associated bike lanes. This North-South arterial is separated by a landscaped median and sees a remarkable 25,000 vehicles per direction per day. Innovation and adaptability were key to the success of this project in both short and long-term aspects. The City strives to be a pioneer in the region testing and implementing new solutions, construction systems, materials, and bidding practices. Fulton Road exemplified this using Alternative Design/Alternative Bid (AD/AB) bidding which allowed both traditional asphalt and Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) pavement sections to compete in a live and competitive bid. Implementing AD/AB saved the City over $1 million as the RCC cost far less than the normal asphalt pavement. Furthermore, the concrete pavement featured a minimum 40-year design life with expectations that it performs similar to Alston Way or other north-bay concrete pavements that are obtaining 50 to 100 years of service life with little to no maintenance. The reduced maintenance with concrete ensures that road closures due to maintenance will be lessened, increasing safety for drivers and road crews that no longer need to be on the roadways as often. Positive environmental effects were also achieved as the concrete section recycled the existing base in-place eliminating the need to off-haul/landfill over 5,000 CY of material eliminating roughly 500 dump trucks and another 5,000 CY or 500 trucks of virgin material. Based on a collaborative analysis of the construction time window, innovation of Ghilotti Bros. Inc. (GBI), and California Nevada Cement Association input – the RCC was swapped out for traditional PCC pavement. The City and GBI adapted the project to accommodate this change and took this opportunity to use a draft version of the PCC Pavement Specifications that are soon to be available on the City and County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC) website. Vetting of the specs will facilitate other agency’s use and prove the replicability of this pavement solution! Safety, accessibility, and resiliency aren’t buzz words in Santa Rosa. The devastating Tubbs Fire in 2017 heavily impacted the region challenging the infrastructure to (and sometimes past) its limits. Fulton Road was designed to meet the burden of heavy truck traffic while providing safe long-term access. Tragedy struck again with the Kincade Fire breaking out on October 23rd, 2019. Fulton Road was active under construction, but the City and Ghilotti Bros. acted quickly to make the road a drivable evacuation route for those fleeing the fire’s path. We hope the many lessons learned during this project can act as an example in the quest for innovative and sustainable infrastructure!