Construction begins Monday, April 8, on the Lampson Avenue Bike Lane Gap Closure Project, according to the city website. The construction schedule will be from April 8 to August 2024, according to the project factsheet, which was also posted on the city website. The cost: $2.3 million, paid with Federal funds, according to the project factsheet.
Work will take place from 7 a.m. to. 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, according to the factsheet.
The city government plans to expand the bike lane paths throughout Seal Beach, according to the factsheet.
“A Class II Bike Lane is present on Lampson Avenue between Basswood Avenue and the city limit with Garden Grove. However, there is no standardized bike lane between Basswood and Seal Beach Boulevard, with areas that are currently extremely narrow in places,” wrote District Four Council Member/Mayor Schelly Sustarsic.
A Class II bike lane is 5 to 6 feet wide and is an on-road bike lane, according to the project factsheet.
“The City of Seal Beach applied for a grant to close this ‘gap’ in the bike lane nearly 10 years ago. It took three submissions of the grant request to finally receive grant approval. This project will create a uniform bike lane on both sides of Lampson, increasing safety for bike riders traveling between Seal Beach Boulevard and the eastern city limit,” Sustarsic wrote.
“This project has been delayed for several years due to construction on Lampson Avenue related to the I-405 Improvement Project (undergrounding utilities, drainage corrections, fiber placement, etc.). Now that freeway construction is finished, street work may begin to widen some areas of Lampson for the new bike lanes. After that, street repaving work and striping for the new bike lanes will be done,” Sustarsic wrote.
“In 2016, the City was awarded an Active Transportation Program (‘ATP’) grant to construct a Class II bike lane along Lampson Avenue,” the factsheet said.
“The Active Transportation Program consolidated various transportation programs into a single program and was originally funded at about $123 million a year from a combination of state and federal funds,” according to the California Transportation Commission website.
“The bike lanes will be constructed on Lampson Ave between Basswood Street and Seal Beach Boulevard, which will connect to the already existing bike lane along Lampson Avenue from Basswood Street going east,” the project factsheet said.
“Lane restrictions are expected,” the factsheet said.
“Cones or other traffic control devices will be used to separate work areas from traffic,” the factsheet said.
“Water trucks will be used to maintain dust control during construction,” the factsheet said.
“Construction noise is expected,” the factsheet said.
In September 2023, the city of Seal Beach rejected the two bids it had received on the project. According to Public Works Director Iris Lee’s staff report, the bids did not meet the requirements for Federal funding. (See “Council rejects bid for Lampson bike lane project,” Sept. 28, 2023, sunnews.org.)
In December 2023, the council approved a contract with Sequel Contractors, Inc., to build the bike lane. As reported at the time, the contract was for $2,332,420. The council at that time authorized the city manager to approve additional work up to a maximum of $300,000. (See “Council OKs contract for bike lane gap closure project,” Dec. 14, 2023.)
When the city sought new bids, the city received seven. The lowest bid came from Sequel Contractors, Inc., at $2,280,420, according to the Dec. 11, 2023 staff report.
“Consistent with the City’s General Plan Circulation Element, the Project will create a Class II (dedicated bike lane) along both directions of Lampson Avenue between Basswood Street and Seal Beach Boulevard, connecting to the existing Class II bike lane heading east towards Valley View Boulevard,” Public Works Director Lee wrote in her Dec. 11, 2023 staff report.
