The City Council this week signed off on two major infrastructure investments that will reshape how Riversiders get around: a $7.7 million contract to repave dozens of miles of city streets and install 165 new safety features, and a series of agreements totaling nearly $10 million to keep the long-planned Third Street rail underpass moving toward construction.
Work on the five street segments included in the project should begin within the next few months, while construction on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway tracks on Third Street is estimated to begin January 2027.
Street repairs and bollards
Council awarded a $7.6 million construction contract to Onyx Paving Company of Yorba Linda for the 2025/26 SB-1 Street Maintenance Improvements and Downtown Bollards Installation project. The company has 130 working days to finish once work begins.
The project is paid for largely through SB-1, the 2017 state law that raised gas taxes and vehicle registration fees for local road repairs. The city has received $59 million through the program since 2017, according to city staff.
Crews will rehab 3.7 miles of arterial streets — including sections of Day Street, Brockton Avenue, Wood Road, La Sierra Avenue and Washington Street — and resurface another 2.7 miles of neighborhood streets, plus rebuild damaged curbs, gutters, sidewalks and pedestrian ramps along the way.
Downtown, the project adds 132 bollards along Main Street to improve pedestrian safety, along with 26 new stop signs and seven solar-powered speed feedback signs around the city.
Ahead of the vote on Tuesday, Council member Philip Falcone pressed staff on why contractor-installed street signs tend to crack and fade faster than the ones made in the city's own sign shop.
“I know I'm a sign freak, but it's very visible,” Falcone said.
Public Works Director Nathan Mustafa said inspectors have found some contractors skipping a protective UV coating and pledged to double-check that contract specs match city standards.
Falcone then moved to approve staff's recommendation, and the council passed it unanimously.
Third Street rail underpass
Separately, council approved a batch of agreements to keep the Third Street Grade Separation project moving forward. The project will lower Third Street between Vine Street and Park Avenue and build a bridge so BNSF trains pass overhead instead of crossing at street level — no more waiting for trains to clear the crossing.
Council approved a three-year, $4.97 million agreement with DCCM Infrastructure of Riverside — which includes a 10% change-order contingency — to oversee construction; the firm negotiated its price down by nearly $1.5 million during the selection process.
It also extended and expanded the city's contract with HDR Engineering, the project's original design firm, by $473,625 to provide ongoing support during construction.
To help cover a funding gap, council also increased a regional funding agreement with the Western Riverside Council of Governments by about $4.3 million, bringing that pot to just over $18 million. The project has already lined up roughly $40 million in outside state and federal grants.
Design and right-of-way work are done, and the project is now headed toward bidding. Construction is expected to start in January 2027 and to take about two years.
