The updated plan incorporates findings from the Butte County Safety Action Plan, which analyzed reported fatal and injury crashes from 2019 through 2023. Designed by Magnific

 

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – Two locations on West Biggs Gridley Road will receive pavement safety improvements as part of a $1 million project approved Sept. 8 by the Butte County Board of Supervisors.

The Board of Supervisors awarded a $1.019 million contract to Truesdell Corporation of Tempe, Arizona, for high-friction surface treatment at 16 locations throughout the county.

Butte County Public Works Director Colt Esenwein said the treatment is intended to increase pavement friction, improve vehicle control and reduce crashes in high-risk areas. He described the process as similar to a chip seal but using a specialized aggregate.

“In this case, it’s bauxite,” Esenwein said. “And this is the first of this kind of a contract in this county.”

Esenwein said a second high-friction surface treatment project is already being designed.

In addition to West Biggs Gridley Road, other locations include portions of Forbestown Road, Bald Rock Road, Colter Way, Skyway, Lower Wyandotte Road, Dogtown Road, Almond Avenue, Old Olive Highway, Cherokee Road and Dalton Way. The project also includes traffic control, stormwater pollution prevention and preservation of existing pavement markings, markers and signs where applicable.

The project coincides with the county's adoption of an updated Local Road Safety Plan, which uses recent crash data to guide safety improvements on county-maintained roads.

The updated plan incorporates findings from the Butte County Safety Action Plan, which analyzed reported fatal and injury crashes from 2019 through 2023. During that period, 2,031 fatal and injury crashes occurred in unincorporated Butte County, including 118 fatal crashes and 398 severe-injury crashes.

The analysis found 77% of fatal and serious-injury crashes in unincorporated Butte County occurred on roadway segments rather than at intersections. Collisions with fixed objects accounted for 41% of fatal and serious-injury crashes, while impaired driving was associated with 41%.

Under the county's safety strategy, high-friction surface treatment can be used on curves and other locations where crash history, roadway geometry, pavement condition or engineering evaluation indicates an elevated risk of vehicles leaving the roadway. The county can also target locations with characteristics similar to known problem areas rather than waiting for a serious crash history to develop at each site.

The Local Road Safety Plan identifies roadway-departure and speed-related crashes, intersection and turning collisions, impaired and high-risk driving, vulnerable road users and high-risk rural corridors as five areas for continued attention.

The Board of Supervisors approved the construction contract without opposition following Esenwein's presentation.