Major repaving on Ralston Avenue in Belmont is happening this week as the city works to make road improvements to one of its busiest streets.
The project on Ralston Avenue between South Road and Villa Avenue will fix the road and make improvements for better bicyclist and pedestrian use. Work will end in mid-August before the school year starts and is part of the Ralston Avenue Pavement Rehabilitation Project.
Construction teams are using a sustainable cold-in-place recycled method of pavement rehabilitation, which involves pulverizing and reusing the existing asphalt layer, according to the city. The method reduces the need for trucks to haul asphalt out of the area and lowers greenhouse gas emissions from the trucks. The new method uses construction equipment to grind and mix the existing asphalt in the vehicle to bind it better and make it stronger. The recycled materials are then placed back down on the road. The major paving is occurring this week and next, followed by striping.
Bozhena Palatnik, a senior civil engineer with the city, noted Ralston is the only east-to-west route in the Belmont and is one of the most consistently used streets in the city, requiring a strong upgrade.
“It will make the road more strong and last at least 20 years more without any additional repairs to the street,” Palatnik said.
The city previously rebuilt all the sidewalks last summer and realigned some of the curb faces to make room for more bike lanes. Director of Public Works Peter Brown said the area is also getting new bike and pedestrian improvements.
“There is a re-striping plan, so we are putting in some new crosswalks and pedestrian-activated rapid flashing beacons and then some continuous class two bike lanes,” Brown said.
Project working times are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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