Aster Road in Adelanto set for two-week closure for 'much needed' improvement project

Jan. 17—A stretch of Aster Road in Adelanto will close Monday for approximately two weeks for a road improvement project city officials say will, in part, bring the residential roadway up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

Located in the Adelanto's southern section, Aster Road, which runs north to south, will be closed between Thorndale Street and Mojave Drive, a distance of about a mile. The project will repave Aster Road, add a bike lane and update the sidewalk.

The segment of Aster Road designated for revamp "functions as a collector street," particularly for traffic to Adelanto High School and Columbia Middle School, city officials said in a staff report.

"Segments of the pedestrian route along the east side of Aster Road do not have sidewalk and existing curb ramps do not meet (ADA) Standards," the staff report said. "The Project will correct these conditions and Aster Road will be repaved with new bike lane markings."

The pavement south of Thorndale Street will be removed and reconfigured to extend the bike lane to Seneca Road.

Additionally, a new traffic lane will be added to Mojave Drive, west of Bellflower Street, to increase traffic capacity there.

The Adelanto City Council awarded the contract to the Anaheim-based Onyx Paving Company during a Nov. 10 special meeting. City documents show Onyx submitted the lowest bid, $745,000, during a month-long process that saw eight companies vie for the job. CTT Concrete Paving submitted the highest bid, at nearly $1.5 million.

The vast majority of the project — $711,000 — will be paid for using Community Development Block Grant funding. The portion related to Mojave Drive does not qualify for CDBG funds, so the city will pay $34,000 with Traffic Impact Fees (TIFs).

Onyx's contract includes a 10% contingency, city documents show. All told, the project is expected to cost $819,500.

The city broke ground on the project Jan. 4, according to Mayor Gabriel Reyes, who said city officials expect the work to wrap up in the second week of February.

Reyes said the project is "much needed."

"Paved walkways and intersections always improve the safety of our kids with safe routes to schools," Reyes said.

Aster Road stretches 1 1/2 miles between Mojave Drive to the north and Palmdale Road to the south. It is also heavily trafficked, mainly due to the location of the two schools.

In a 2019 Adelanto In Motion survey, 40% of participants identified Aster Road and Mojave Drive as priorities for walking and biking improvements. Elsewhere, 60% selected Bartlett Avenue, Bellflower Street, Chamberlaine Way and Highway 395.

Participants also identified the intersection of Aster and Seneca roads as an area known for "speeding and lack of sidewalks."

Reyes said the work on Mojave Road will improve traffic flow where it intersects Bellflower Street. That area is also heavily trafficked due to nearby Donald F. Bradach Elementary School. Bellflower Street also runs to Rancho Road, for residents not wanting to use Highway 395.

Reyes said the work will make the intersection a "safe environment" for school traffic.

Mojave Drive, west of Aster Road, is not included in the project because it's outside city limits.

A crew worked on the intersection last week, diverting traffic around a large body of water, a common occurrence there.

"We are looking into why the water build up is so bad," Reyes said. "We do have some construction going on in that area so we hope to address it then."

Daily Press reporter Jose Quintero may be reached at 760-951-6274 or JQuintero@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_JoseQ.

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