$1.1-Million Roadwork Project Under Way in Lake Forest

More than five million square feet of local streets will be recovered and 5,000 square feet removed and replaced between now and October as part of a scheduled preventative maintenance program.

The roadwork includes placing about 3,600 extra-long tons of protective rubberized slurry seal over streets in several Lake Forest neighborhoods. During the project, all of the striping and markings on the roads will be replaced as well.

Rubberized Pavement Contractors, a Santa Fe Springs company, was awarded the contract this week.

The company has 60 working days to complete all the roadwork, according to the contract. By October, the project should be complete.

Work in neighborhoods near city schools will be completed by Labor Day so as not to interfere with the beginning of the 2011-12 school year, says the city's public works manager, Luis Estevez.

Residents should have already received notices if work is going to take place in their neighborhoods this summer.

In addition, the contractor will distribute door-hanger fliers the week before or of construction to remind residents. "No parking" signs on the streets that will be closed to traffic will go up 72 hours before construction begins.

As residential city streets get a minor face-lift, the roads will close. However, some of the work will take place between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. to minimize impact to daytime traffic circulation.

Residents who leave town for a vacation should make sure to park their cars in their driveway or garage if road construction is expected, Estevez added.

The budget for the project is just above $1.1 million, including a 10 percent contingency buffer.

Editor's note: This story corrects the time span that some of the construction will take place in order to minimize traffic impacts.