Balfour Road Shoulder Widening

Balfour Road Shoulder Widening

Contra Costa County Public Works Department (CCCPWD) plans to widen Balfour Road to bring the shoulders up to current design standard to provide a driver recovery area and a bike lane. The project segment is approximately three miles long and is a narrow, two-lane road that receives substantial traffic as it is used as a thoroughfare between Brentwood and Discovery Bay as well as a commuter route to SR 4. The project consists of widening the existing 18- to 20-ft pavement width to 36 ft wide (two 12-ft wide travel lanes with 6-ft wide paved shoulders/bike lanes and 2-ft wide shoulder backing on each side). The project does not increase the number of travel lanes and will therefore not increase the capacity of the roadway. The majority of the widening will occur along the south side of Balfour Rd. The segment between Byron Hwy and Bixler Rd will require adding 16 to 18 ft of asphalt pavement primarily along the south side of the rd. The segment between Sellers Ave and Byron Hwy will require adding 16 to 28 ft of asphalt pavement along the south side. Left turn lane pockets will be added on the east and west legs of Balfour Rd at Byron Hwy and a left turn pocket lane will be added on the west leg of Balfour Rd at Bixler Rd. A drainage system consisting of an open roadside ditch and underground pipe will be installed to collect and convey roadside runoff. The existing County rd ROW varies from 40 to 100 ft. CCCPWD will need to acquire strips of land in those areas where the existing ROW cannot accommodate the shoulder widening, and utility relocations. The strips of land to be acquired vary between 5 to 15 ft along the north side of Balfour Rd from various parcels and between 5 to 44 ft from various parcels along the south side of the road. The ECCID holds easements and fee titles within some of the parcels where they have their canal and underground pipe facilities. Residential landscape trees and fences located within the proposed ROW will need to be removed. Temporary construction easements will also be needed for construction staging areas. Construction of the project is anticipated to start in 2017 and take approximately six months to complete.

Brentwood

Contra Costa