The East Avenue Sidewalk Improvement Project was completed in fall 2019. This Safe Routes to School Project provides continuous sidewalks on both sides of East Avenue from E Street to Camino Vista, along with high-visibility crosswalks. The project provides significant health and safety benefits to residents, students and families, especially those walking or riding bikes to and from East Avenue Elementary School and Hayward High School, where a combined 2,200 students attend.
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the project’s completion, many residents voiced their appreciation and expressed how this project is changing their lives. They expressed feeling safer walking on the new sidewalks. As a result, residents are walking more and meeting their neighbors, thereby creating a more vibrant community.
 Supported by and consistent with community priorities, the East Avenue Project was identified in the Alameda County Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for Unincorporated Areas. The Alameda County Public Works Agency is continuing its efforts to educate and encourage students to walk and bike to school with “Walk to School Week” events and other activities.
 The Alameda County Public Works Agency continues to construct multi-modal facilities as part of its Capital Improvement Program. As a result, a significant number of new sidewalks are being installed in the unincorporated areas of Alameda County.
Other recently completed projects include the Santa Maria Sidewalk Improvement Project and the Center Street Sidewalk Improvement Project, Western Boulevard, Meekland Avenue, and Blossom Way (pictured below). These projects not only improve health and safety for students and residents, they also provide traffic calming benefits, improve storm drainage and create complete communities.
Santa Maria Avenue
Center Street
Western Boulevard
Meekland Avenue
Blossom Way
Major Roadway Rehabilitation Project
The North Livermore Pavement Rehabilitation Project was recently completed. Begun in August 2019, it is located on North Livermore Avenue from the I-580 interchange within Livermore city limits to Manning Road in Murray Township. The project included traffic control, street, landscape and utility improvements. This is one of many projects completed in 2019.
 
Multiple projects designed to beautify and revitalize specific areas in Alameda County are slated to begin this spring, including Phase II of the East 14th Street Corridor Improvement Project, the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project, and the Stanton Avenue Sidewalk Improvement Project. Upon completion of these projects, residents, community members and businesses will experience improved safety features, as well as enhanced driving, walking, biking and public transit experiences.
Project features include:
- Roadway paving
- Utility undergrounding
- Sidewalk, curb, gutter and driveway improvements
- Enhanced street crossing beacons and signs
- New and improved bike lanes
- Bike rack installations
- Street tree plantings
- Decorative street furnishings
- Public art elements
- New storm water treatment systems
Funding for these projects comes from several sources, including the Alameda County Public Works Agency, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Measure B/BB, the Vehicle Registration Fee and other sources.
For more information about these and other projects, visit acpwa.org/construction-projects, call the construction hotline at (510) 670-5485 or email info@acpwa.org.
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 The Turner Court Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project, developed by the Alameda County Public Works Agency (ACPWA) and the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District), showcases and evaluates innovative ways to protect watersheds and communities from pollution and erosion. The project demonstrates how to mitigate the effects of urbanization, effectively address water quality and meet new environmental guidelines.
The ACPWA and District parking lot at 951 Turner Court in Hayward was converted into the 142,000-square-foot Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project. The site consists of 14 different green infrastructure features that use engineering and/or nature to reduce pollutants from getting into the creek and the Bay.
The Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project is open to the public. It is a self-guided tour, with each of the 14 features described in detail on interpretive panels. The site is designed as a model and training ground where municipal agencies and private sector professionals can study the project aspects from engineering, storm water management, landscape architecture, construction and maintenance. Features that are best suited for particular sites can then be incorporated into design and construction.
Long-term results for the different features in this model infrastructure will be studied and recommended for their efficacy, durability and economic values. One of the goals of the project was to ensure that more storm water will percolate into and be filtered by the soil. In turn, less storm water will end up as runoff, washing fewer pollutants into creeks, wetlands, and the Bay. Another goal was to build rainwater capture systems that can be used for landscape irrigation.
For more information, visit www.acfloodcontrol.org/projects-and-programs/green-infrastructure.
 The Alameda County Public Works Agency (ACPWA) conducted the sixth annual Contractors' Academy consisting of a series of four workshops to provide small and local contractors with information about how to enter into Public Works contracts and expand their work in this sector. Participants included women and men from construction firms, representing Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) and Small, Local and Emerging Businesses (SLEB).
Presenter Ed Duarte, CEO of Aztec Consultants, covered information about estimating and bidding, understanding the public works contracting procedures and connecting with general contractors who are already doing business with ACPWA. Attendees learned what to do once a bid is awarded. While Duarte taught the first three sessions, a fourth session called “Meet the Reps” consisted of a panel of speakers representing agencies throughout the county. Panelists included David Lewis, Assistant Engineer for ACPWA; Rob Sales, Field Maintenance Supervisor for ACPWA; Ashwin Swenson, Contract Administration for ACPWA; and Percy Irving, Facilities Manager, Building Maintenance Department for the General Services Agency of Alameda County. Liz Brazil, DBE Bid Specialist with Norcal Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) also presented on the supportive services that are offered to DBEs through Norcal PTAC.
To receive information about the next Academy, please contact Abi Chandler at (510) 670-5521 or visit acpwa.org/contractor-academy.
The Alameda County Public Works Agency (ACPWA) welcomes Edric Kwan as the new Deputy Director of the Engineering Department.
Edric has many years of experience in public works engineering and administration, both in the public and private sectors. Prior to joining ACPWA, he served as the Public Works Director/Town Engineer for the Town of Moraga.
Edric will have administrative oversight of the Engineering Department, which includes Flood Control and Transportation Improvement Capital Project delivery; Traffic and Transportation Engineering; Surveying; Right-of-Way services; Environmental and Clean Water programs, and Watershed Studies and Engineering.
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Diana Carvalho, who has worked for Alameda County Public Works Agency for over 20 years, won the American Public Works Association 2019 Award for outstanding community service.
Diana was nominated for the award based on the leadership, dedication and initiative that she has demonstrated in her job at ACPWA and for being active in community service. Currently a Public Works Technical Assistant in the Maintenance and Operations Department, Diana volunteers often to feed unsheltered individuals independently and through various organizations.
Diana spearheaded a team of volunteers last year during Alameda County’s annual Hackathon, wherein employees are encouraged to find creative ways to enhance and improve customer service. She conceived of the idea to create an app that would connect people who are experiencing homelessness to County social and health care agencies for resources and assistance. The app concept, AC Restart, won the Hackathon’s Best of the Best award.
As a dedicated ACPWA employee and public advocate, Diana has demonstrated concern for humanity and a drive for excellence. Congratulations, Diana!
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Sometimes it takes a special person to fit into an already established organization. Especially if the person comes on board as an intern, and then is hired to be a full-time employee. Alameda County Public Works Agency (ACPWA) was fortunate to bring on Michael Good as an intern in July 2016. Michael was working on a double major at Cal State University East Bay when he applied for an internship with the County.
“It was only supposed to be a short internship, but they kept me on part time to continue to work on the systems project that I was helping with,” Michael explains. Michael completed his B.S. in Geography and B.A. in Environmental Studies with a focus on the physical environments, as well as a certification in cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He was hired full time in September 2018, and has been nose-to-the-grindstone since.
“My whole goal with schooling and education was to make the world a better place, for a better way of thinking. Applying with Alameda County was toward that goal,” Michael says. “My thought was, ‘I can make the most impact by working in government and make improvements here.’ That’s why I chose ACPWA – I wanted to help out; I wanted to make the community better.”
Michael makes a difference in the county through his job, which includes working on its GIS, compiling information to track the assets of the maintenance and operations department through the Computer Maintenance Management System (CMMS), training users on these and other systems, writing guides, documents and policies and identifying creative solutions.
One of the most impressive things about Michael is his can-do attitude, and how he finds ways to work within a system that can get unwieldy at times. “The greatest takeaways in this job are the kind of relationships you build,” he reflects. “The relationships you build with the people in your own section, in your own department, even the county itself, will help you promote growth and change.”
Being part of the solution is characteristic of who Michael is, both personally and professionally. When asked for a word to describe his experience so far, he replied, “grit.”
“You kind of need to just sit down and put your head to the books, and just get to work,” he explains. “I remember walking in and the first week they handed me seven or eight or nine binders. They said, ‘This is what we use for this program.” The documents in the binders went back 15 years and weren’t digitized, so Michael sat down and started cataloguing, deciphering, prioritizing and digitizing.
Michael’s future with Alameda County seems to be on a path that will fulfill his ideals of making a difference in the world. He was part of a team that entered Alameda County’s 5th Internal Hackathon, Rethink AC 2019. Their entry, an app concept called AC Restart, won Best of the Best.
“The ideal of this app is to help people find the resources they need to survive and thrive. If our work could help just one person do that, I feel that it would have been a success and help make the world better, as life is precious.”
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