Watt Avenue construction impacts Sacramento County businesses, promises safety improvements

NAVIGATING ALL THAT CONSTRUCTION AT FURNITURE MART ON WHAT AVENUE? YOU KNOW, OUR PRICE REALLY AFFORDABLE BUSINESS IS SLOWER THAN USUAL. I MEAN, WE DON’T HAVE LIKE A AS MUCH TRAFFIC LIKE BEFORE. YEAH. MANAGER YANG BELIEVES THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT UNDERWAY OUTSIDE THE BUSINESS IS LIKELY. WHY? STILL, HE’S OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE UPGRADES. I’M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT ROAD IMPROVEMENTS ON THIS STRETCH OF WHAT AVENUE HAVE BEEN GOING ON? ABOUT AS LONG AS HE’S BEEN IN THIS LOCATION. BACK IN 2019, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAD DONE A STUDY ON ALL THE ROADS IN THE COUNTY, AND WE HAVE AN INDEX OF OUR ROADS, HOW GOOD THEY ARE, HOW BAD THEY ARE. AND WE PRESENTED THAT IN FRONT OF THE BOARD. AND SINCE THEN, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAS MADE TRANSPORTATION ONE OF THEIR TOP THREE PRIORITIES WITH FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING. NOW THE WATT AVENUE COMPLETE STREET IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT IS UNDERWAY. YOU CAN SEE THE WORK FROM ABOVE IN THIS VIDEO FROM LIVECOPTER3. SO WHAT WE’RE DOING IS WE’RE REPAVING PORTIONS OF WATT AVENUE, AS WELL AS CREATING BETTER SIDEWALKS, BICYCLE LANES, AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT IT’S SAFER FOR PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY’RE ON FOOT, ON BIKE OR IN A CAR TO TRAVEL DOWN WATT AVENUE. WATT AVENUE IS ONE OF THE BUSIEST ROADS IN THE COUNTY. DRIVERS KNOW IT HAS ITS CHALLENGES BECAUSE IT IS A ROUGH STRETCH OF ROAD. YOU KNOW, POTHOLES ALL OVER THE PLACE AND IT’S WEAR AND TEAR ON THE VEHICLES. WITH CREWS WORKING ON THE ROADS AND SIDEWALKS. THE COUNTY IS ENCOURAGING EVERYONE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO ROAD SIGNS. THE CREWS WORKING AND THE HOLES IN THE GROUND. ROBINSON SAYS CREWS ARE WORKING FAST AND ARE ON TRACK TO FINISH AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ONE AVENUE, MADISON AVENUE, YOU KNOW, SUNRISE. WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT ROADWAYS IN THE COUNTY THAT WE’RE TRYING TO IMPROVE. THE COUNTY DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING. SO WHEN WE DO GET FUNDING FOR IT, WE WANT TO GET TO THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THAT WE ARE TAKING THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT THESE ROADS VERY SERIOUSLY. IN SACRAMENTO, LEE ANNE DENYER KCRA THREE NEWS. THE INITIAL TIMELINE HAD THE WATT AVENUE COMPLETE STREET AND IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT SET TO BE COMPLETE BY FEBRUARY OF NEXT YEAR. THE COUNTY SAYS THEY’RE ACTUALLY ON TRACK TO FINISH LATE THIS YEAR. OUR INVESTIGATIVE UNIT TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW CALIFORNIA’S ROADS COMPARE WITH OTHER STATES, AS WELL AS A LOOK AT SACRAMENTO AR