City of Santa Ana wins top Public Works projects APWA Awards

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County Community Alert:

Public Works Projects Noted For Innovative and Collaborative Approaches: Santa Ana Wins Top APWA Awards

SANTA ANA, CA (December 12, 2012) – The City of Santa Ana will receive three 2012 Project of The Year Awards from the Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA). The city was honored at the APWA’s 13th Annual Awards Luncheon in Lakewood, California, where public agencies are recognized for their outstanding capital improvement projects and public works programs.

“We thank the American Public Works Association for recognizing the City of Santa Ana through these projects for its innovative and collaborative approaches to design, funding, and project management,” says Raul Godinez, Executive Director of Public Works, City of Santa Ana. “These approaches ensured the needs of our community were met with a minimal impact to city budgets, commuter traffic, and resident safety. We believe all three projects exemplify our stewardship of Santa Ana’s infrastructure which is essential to our community’s safety, health, and quality of life.”

Among the fifty projects awarded at the luncheon based on project performance, innovative features, and impact on quality of life, the following City of Santa Ana projects were selected:

MacArthur Boulevard/State Route 55 Interchange Ramp Widening. The project included increased capacity to improve traffic flow and air quality for commuters and surrounding residential and business areas; rehabilitation of streets and ramps’ pavement to improve a safer and smoother ride for drivers; and safety improvements including signage, delineators, guard railings and ramp meters. The project was noted for its innovative design approaches for cost savings and water conserving landscape systems, construction management to minimize lane closures, and collaboration of government entities, public utility agencies and business owners to complete the environmental, design, and construction phases expeditiously.

Memory Lane Road Diet. The city installed a Class II Bikeway on Memory Lane from Bristol Street to Flower Street to address residents’ concerns of speeding and street racing in an area used by bicyclists. The City was recognized for its innovation in funding the project, incorporating it under the City’s Residential Street Program which resulted in a complete repaved street with a neighborhood supported lane reduction in addition to the new Class II Bikeway.

Diamond Mutual Water Company Water Main Improvements/Catalina Street Pump Owners’ Association Water Service Connections. The City rescued two communities totaling 145 residences serviced by two dysfunctional private water companies unable to deliver safe drinking water. The construction of 4,200 feet of potable water pipe, 145 water service connections, removal of two private water wells, and dissolution of two dysfunctional private water companies allowed access to clean, safe and reliable drinking potable water for all 145 residences.

APWA is the professional association of Public Works leaders throughout the United States and Canada. The Southern California Chapter covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and there are over 1,400 members in the Chapter.

The City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency, with its four divisions and professional staff of more than 200 employees, is responsible for the city’s infrastructure and quality of life. The agency builds and maintains all public streets, storm drains, sewers, and water facilities, as well as coordinates refuse collection and recycling, street sweeping, public right-of-way landscaping, and graffiti removal. It also ensures the community enjoys high quality drinking water and is able to travel around the City efficiently through the use of a state-of-the-art traffic management system, and collaboration with neighborhood associations and developers to resolve speeding, parking, and traffic problems.

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