Ok Ok OK…this may not mean a lot to TOW peeps outside of LA but this is LOOONG overdue!!! I can’t wait to roll down this street in its new form…
from the LA Times:
Beginning on Monday, the city of West Hollywood will begin giving the Sunset Strip — its roadway and sidewalks — its first face-lift since it was converted from a dirt road.
The Sunset Boulevard “strip” has not been repaved since the 1930s. “It’s the heart of rock ‘n’ roll,” said Mikeal Maglieri, the owner of the Whisky a Go-Go and the Rainbow Room. “This is sort of a revitalization in tough economic times. I think it’s good for business. It’s a face-lift. It’s a rejuvenation. It needs to be done.”
more on this and a throw back De La Soul vid inspired by the story after the jump…get some
Donn Uyeno, the project manager in the city’s engineering division, said the Sunset Strip has held up remarkably well given how long it has gone without being repaved. It’s a concrete road, which gives the street a strong base. And because it’s on the top of a hill, water rolls downhill, which keeps the road from deteriorating the pavement as much as it might otherwise.
Still, that has only slowed the aging process, not stopped it. The city plans to grind away the top two layers of the roadway and install rubberized asphalt.
“We’re going to use ground-up tires that were just filling landfills, and the sound of the [cars] on the pavement will be a lot quieter,” Uyeno said. “When cars pass concrete, any time the tires roll over a crack or a panel, you hear the noise of the tire. This is going to greatly reduce the sound of cars.”
The city will also replace about one-third of the sidewalk and make existing sidewalks more pedestrian-friendly. Flowering, palm, magnolia and shade tree districts will be created. Trees that have grown for so long that they’ve cracked the pavement will be replaced with others.
