2023 Elk Grove crack sealing program resumes, but only after years of road maintenance neglect

Profits exceeded expectations

As reported by Elk Grove city manager Jason Behrmann in his administrative update at the January 25 city council meeting (see video below), the annual crack sealing program will resume in February. The program repair cracks and extend the life of asphalt roads and streets in the city.

As noted by Behrmann, while the sealing may not be visibly appealing to some, it is a cost-effective approach to prevent further road deterioration. The program has been in place since 2020, but it should be noted for years leading up to the program, the city had neglected road maintenance.

In a presentation almost 10 years ago, former public works director Richard Shepherd sounded the alarm about the negligence of Elk Grove road maintenance. Shepherd’s presentation to the city council can be viewed in the video below.

In April 2015, we reported on a mile-long crack, among many, on Laguna Boulevard. Less than a year later, in February 2016, we reported on crumbling streets in one of Elk Grove’s oldest neighborhoods in District 3.

A couple of years later, in September 2018, Elk Grove resident Lynn Wheat presented the Elk Grove City Council with a piece of broken asphalt found on an Elk Grove street. With a measure of sarcasm, Wheat said she applied on behalf of the city for a grant from Dominoes Pizza to repair Elk Grove’s crumbling roads.

So while the Elk Grove City Council is historically attracted to the new glittery ideas like flys are to manure, the mundane things like maintaining roads ultimately matter to constituents. With some luck, the city council will keep this in mind as they contemplate hundreds of millions of dollars in expenditures made with taxpayers’ money on projects like the relocation of the Sacramento Zoo.