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Union Road reopens between River and Golden Hill roads 

Union-Road-open

– Union Road reopened Tuesday between River and Golden Hill roads after a year of construction. The opening completes $2,836,500 in improvements for the road.

The money was gathered from two grants, one California Highway Grant requested by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments or SLOCOG, and a Bicycle Transportation Grant in the amount of $533,500. The project was also partially funded by supplemental sales tax.

The stretch of road was in serious disrepair, too narrow, with a blind, hilly curve intersected by private driveways and a misaligned intersection at Walnut Drive. It is a heavily traveled east/west thoroughfare serving 10,800 vehicle trips daily, according to a city report.

In meetings with the community last year, two major issues came up with the stretch of road: controlling the speed of travel and providing a safe way to cross Union Road from the south to the north as a new sidewalk will be installed on the north side.

To address these concerns, the final design includes the two electronic flashing devices that display the driver’s speed, a painted crosswalks and a raised pedestrian refuge island at Montebello Oaks.

The project improves visibility by decreasing the existing crest on the road. This lowered the existing road profile by two or three feet in elevation and means a new 12-foot high retaining wall was installed along the south side of the road. It also meant existing utilities in the road were lowered, including waterlines, a high-pressure gas main, communication lines, cable TV lines, electrical lines and poles.

The project re-aligned the intersection of Walnut Dr. at Union Road to provide a more standard “T” intersection. The city also installed bike lanes and improved the surface of the road, a new sidewalk on the north side of the street, as well as new traffic lights.

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About the author: Publisher Scott Brennan

Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Follow him on Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog.