A major sewer system improvement project in Grover Beach is now complete and the city has started to repair a handful of roads.
“I think infrastructure is so important to the growth and the overall health of the city," saidSteve Kalsman, Arroyo Grande resident. "It's going to help to ensure that, not only the residents have the infrastructure that they need, but when new homes are built or remodeled, it'll be able to accommodate all that activity."
Mainlines under North 9th Street, Ramona Avenue, North 8th Street, Rockaway Avenue, South 4th Street and Manhattan Avenue were either upgraded or replaced.
Some streets that have been torn up for this project will be repaved as part of Measure K-14, a street repair project nine years in the making.
Ninth Street, 11th Street, 12th Street, Brighton Avenue and Ramona Avenue will be the focus for this phase of the project.
Valerie McGill has lived on 9th Street for years. She said when she first moved to the city almost a decade ago, the roads were already bad and she assumed they’d be replaced soon.
“It's been seven years and they haven't done it yet," McGill said. "Two years ago, they said that they would be paving them. They sent out a notice and it never happened.”
She said she’s hopeful the roads will be fixed this time around. McGill worries that the road conditions hurt the city's appearance.
“Some of these homes around here are million-dollar homes, but the streets look like third-world country streets," McGill said.
Kalsman said the infrastructure improvements across the Five Cities area are a great sign for the community.
“There has been some controversy about is it too much growth? Is it not enough? Is the city changing its character? But I think, for the long term, it's a positive thing for the community," Kalsman said.
So far, the concrete curb ramps have been demolished. The work on these roads is anticipated to be finished by November of this year.
“We just have to be patient and just remind them that we're waiting," McGill said. "We'd like our streets looking good.”
