Moraga Road A Bit Rougher Than Anticipated By Residents
By Sophie Braccini
Paul Dickey was surprised when he saw workers striping the portion of Moraga Road that was recently worked on, while the surface still felt quite rough. "I was curious to know why that portion of the road didn't feel as smooth as the rest of the roads when they were recently repaved, why is this part different?" the resident asked.
"I know this is not what the residents anticipated," responded Moraga Public Works Director and Town Engineer Jill Mercurio, "however, it is exactly what the Town had requested. This project is a resurfacing project, not a repaving project. And as much as I would have loved to provide the same type of end product that we did on Moraga Road between Sky-Hy and Buckingham, we would have been able to only go half the distance as we were able to with the rubber cape seal project."
Mercurio explained that because the Town is short on funds to maintain its infrastructure, it has to make the most of whatever funding it can get; this project's funding came through the Economic Stimulus Act.
With limited resources, Mercurio chose a rubber cape seal process that is preferable to a simple slurry seal because it provides some structural reinforcement to the roadway that slurry seals do not.
"As for the roughness, much of that will dissipate as the road is continually used and the aggregate is embedded in the asphalt better, but it will never be as smooth as an actual repaved road," adds Mercurio. The embedded material is made of recycled rubber tires and one added benefit of the surface is that it is likely to provide better traction during the rainy season.
"I know this is not what the residents anticipated," responded Moraga Public Works Director and Town Engineer Jill Mercurio, "however, it is exactly what the Town had requested. This project is a resurfacing project, not a repaving project. And as much as I would have loved to provide the same type of end product that we did on Moraga Road between Sky-Hy and Buckingham, we would have been able to only go half the distance as we were able to with the rubber cape seal project." 
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA