Bishop - Bike path project presents potential savings opportunity

As part of the Safe Route to Schools projects in Bishop, another heavily used bike path is in line for much-needed rehabilitation.
The project to revamp the path running from the end of Sierra Street near the Catholic Church to North Sierra Highway could also in the long run prove one of the most cost-effective for the city, depending on which materials are used.
Bishop Public Works Director Dave Grah told the City Council at its meeting on Nov. 24 that the path gets a lot of use not only from pedestrians but Los Angeles Department of Water and Power uses heavy equipment on this path to keep the adjacent water ditch clear of debris and overgrown foliage.
The rehabilitation work will entail replacing the existing asphalt with concrete.
However, a Bishop resident suggested to the council a cheaper and, reportedly more aesthetic, solution to paving.
Mary Baker, who recently took out candidacy papers to run for City Council, told the council she was “not fond of asphalt” and said she felt there is too much paving going on in the world and Inyo County.
She said that the sometimes excess paving in Inyo County detracts from the rural, country atmosphere of the area.

The Bishop City Council approved what will be matching funds for the rehabilitation of this bike path that runs from North Sierra Highway to Sierra Street in Bishop. The cost of the project is estimated at $448,550. Photo by Mike Bodine

Baker suggested a product called PolyPavement, a “liquid soil solidifier” that actually binds and fuses the existing soil with an acrylic polymer.
According to the Web site www.polypavement.com, the product requires little to no maintenance, and never needs to be replaced like conventional asphalt or concrete. Rather, another layer of the product can be applied over the top of the existing PolyPavement.
PolyPavement is applied with a sprayer and can be easily repaired with a pourable form of the product.
The Web site also touts the product as being non-toxic and says it will not leech into the groundwater.
Baker added that with the plans for so many new bike paths in Bishop, the “cheaper substitute to concrete,” PolyPavement, should be considered for cost savings in the long run.
According to one local contractor, concrete is $87 a square yard, or approximately $3.22 per square foot. PolyPavement is advertised at $0.30 a square foot. These costs do not include labor or equipment.
Grah said Monday that he roughly estimated the cost of concrete for the project, based on the cost of another project, to be $15 per square foot, which would include labor and rebar foundations. He noted that the Sierra Street Bike Project would require additional costs for grading.
Grah said that while he has not yet had a chance to thoroughly research PolyPavement, he said it “sounds too good to be true.” He added that because this particular path is also used for maintenance by LADWP, the alternative pavement may not be suitable for this application.
According to Grah, Public Works will soon be working on other bike path projects and PolyPavement may work particularly well for these applications.
At the meeting, councilmembers were in agreement that the product sounded like a good idea and Grah said he and his staff will be looking into the alternative paving product.
Public Works ultimately got approval from City Council to use Proposition 1B funds to cover the 10 percent match of $44,850 to be eligible for Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA) funding for the nearly $500,000 project.
In addition to replacing the concrete path, the project will also provide new and reconfigured fencing to eliminate the potential hazards caused by livestock wandering onto the path.