Grover Beach city officials tackle pesky potholes
Pothole problems and poor street conditions are nothing new for people in Grover Beach.
“When you drive behind people it looks like they’re drinking and driving the way that they’re swerving,” says Linda Terpening whose son lives in Grover Beach.
“They’re so big that I’ve been dodging them – even sometimes swerving into the other lane to dodge them,” says Grover Beach Resident, Eva Ackerman.
Many say the recent storms have made them even worse. “The potholes have never been as bad as they were this year,” Ackerman tells us.
The city is actively fighting back against the erosion at a rate that they’re pretty proud of.
“We’ve already repaired 84 city blocks or seven city miles for a total of 20 percent of all local streets in the last two years,” explains Matt Bronson, City Manager of Grover Beach.
The funding for these repairs is coming from the 2014 voter approved bond, Measure K-14. In total, the city has up to $50 million over a 25 year period to make investments in their roadways.
Their next project is going to be the first of its kind for the city. “The city council will be hearing [Monday night] the next round of street improvements which is an $8 million set of bond funded improvements which is the largest road project in the city’s history,” Bronson says.
Once that project is underway, the city says the road rehabilitation will be nearly 50% complete.
While some residents say they’re happy with the city’s pace, others say they’re waiting on even buying a new car until the repairs are complete.
“There’s only so much they can do given the amount of time they’ve had and I appreciate that they are trying to get the streets fixed,” says Grover Beach Resident John Beaton.
“It’s still very hard on your tires and your alignment and I’m sure it puts a lot of wear and tear on my car, that’s why I wont buy a new one,” Ackerman says.
If you’d like to know more about which streets are next on the city’s list click here. To find out which roads they’ve already fixed, click here.
