Bob Kellar | The City of Santa Clarita, at Work for You

Santa Clarita City Councilman Bob Kellar. Katharine Lotze/Signal
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The City of Santa Clarita is hard at work for you, adding new amenities and infrastructure that strengthen the city’s reputation of being a wonderful place to live, work and play. 

You’ve undoubtedly seen construction taking place at a number of sites in Santa Clarita and the city is proud to report on the progress of key buildings and infrastructure improvements that affect our residents. City staff completed a number of large capital improvement projects in 2018 and many more are in the works as we approach the end of our five-year strategic plan, Santa Clarita 2020.

First and foremost, the city’s Public Works Department should be congratulated for being recognized with five prestigious awards from the American Public Works Association, including the Outstanding Public Works Project of the Year for the Old Town Newhall Parking Structure. This year will be another busy one for staff as projects are completed and progress on major facilities continues each day.

The city is nearing the completion of the New-hall Ranch Road Bridge Widening project over San Francisquito Creek, between Avenue Tibbitts and Valencia Heritage Park. Street improvements were made to enhance traffic flow by adding an additional lane for vehicles traveling in each direction and all lanes are now open for use. 

While the improvements to the street work are finishing up, residents can expect final touches on the railing and fencing on the bridge to be completed in February. Connections were also completed to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross Newhall Ranch Road underneath the bridge, ensuring their safety when using the trail system.

Another project that addresses driver, pedestrian and cyclist safety is the installation of the Sierra Highway Pedestrian Bridge near Golden Valley Road. In addition to the pedestrian bridge, which makes it safer for students at Golden Valley High School to walk to and from school, the project also adds improvements to the sidewalks, medians, landscaping and traffic pattern. Left turn pockets allow for more efficient driving through the intersection, and all roadway improvements are expected to be completed in February.

A significant undertaking in our community – the new Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on Golden Valley Road – is also coming along nicely. Site grading is complete and you will notice that retaining walls around the property have also been built. Additionally, construction teams installed surface drainage devices at the end of December to be prepared for the rainy weather and support the next phase of the project. 

Crews are also stabilizing the graded slopes this month at the future Sheriff’s Station to lay the foundation for construction, while improvements will be made to the Golden Valley Road right-of-way in the near future. These improvements will include constructing driveways on the property, performing median modifications and landscaping, installing streetlights and extending utilities to the site. Vertical construction of the station is scheduled to start in May and will be complete by the end of 2020.

Phase I of the Canyon Country Community Center project is out to bid and construction is anticipated to begin this spring. The first phase will include rough grading of the site, at the corner of Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway, as well as drainage improvements and the construction of the Mint Canyon Channel. Please be on the lookout for more information about a groundbreaking event, which the public will be invited to attend in March.

The second phase of the project will include the construction of the community center and site and street improvements. Phase II is in the planning process and will start immediately following the completion of Phase I. The city is looking forward to bring this new community center to the residents in Canyon Country in 2020.

Many diverse projects and facilities are being worked on in 2019, with new and exciting amenities and opportunities for residents on the horizon. For the latest information on capital improvement projects in Santa Clarita, please visit SantaClarita2020.com.

Bob Kellar is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at [email protected].

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