Residents of Pacific Beach and Mission Beach are benefiting from a street repaving project and looking forward to a water main replacement plan, both of which represent significant improvements within the coastal communities. Mission Beach residents gathered with Councilman Kevin Faulconer on April 26 to celebrate the completion of a repavement project along Mission Boulevard, which included the replacement of approximately 310,000 square feet of asphalt along the street, as well as the installation of new ADA-compliant curb ramps. The ramps will make it easier for people with disabilities and parents pushing strollers to navigate the popular thoroughfare, said Tony Manolatos, communications director for Faulconer’s office. That project cost $650,000 and was paid through the city’s general fund, Manolatos said. In Pacific Beach, nearly eight miles of cast iron water main pipes will be replaced with new PVC pipes as part of a citywide project that will kick off in October. The project was prompted by an increased frequency of water main breaks over the last few years. Twelve breaks have occurred during that period, and the average age of the pipes involved was 77 years, Manolatos said. Customers who will be affected by the replacement will receive a notice in the mail 30 days before construction begins, and the contractor will hand-deliver notices to residents five days before work begins, said Racquel Vasquez, senior public information officer for the city’s engineering and capital projects department. She said that project-related work will take about four weeks to complete per block. “The bottom line is, there is some disruption, but [customers] will be notified when their street is going to be carved up and they’ll be notified about how long it’s expected to take. They won’t see any change in their water service because we always make sure people are going to have safe and secure water supplies,” said Bill Harris, senior public information officer for the storm water department. The total cost of the water main replacement project is slightly more than $16 million, with just more than $10 million awarded to El Cajon Grading and Engineering for design and construction costs and $6 million allotted to the city for preliminary engineering and planning, construction engineering, contingencies and city forces work like the shutdown and reconnection of portions of the water system. The project is funded by rate increases for San Diego Water Department customers that took effect in February 2007, Harris said. Vasquez said that the project is an important infrastructure improvement for residents. “This project is one part of the city’s overall improvements program implemented to provide a safe and reliable water delivery system for San Diego. The new pipes will reduce maintenance needs, improve service reliability and minimize future water main breaks,” she said.