Caltrans briefed the Angels Camp City Council Oct. 21 on a two‑mile “Complete Streets” reconstruction of Main Street (post mile 7.4 to 9.5) that the agency said was awarded in 2025 and began construction in August but will not resume major work until spring 2026 after crews discovered unexpected underground utility conflicts during excavation.

The project, Caltrans told the council, includes new sidewalks, curb ramps, bike lanes, upgraded crosswalks, street lighting and drainage work along the stretch from Burner Hill (near the high school area) to Pine Street. Caltrans staff said the job was awarded to a contractor in 2025 for about $7,000,000 and is scoped for roughly 200 working days; the agency said it is revising plans after excavation exposed multiple conflicts with existing water and sewer laterals and that crews will winterize sections until weather allows resumption of construction.

Why this matters: Council members and scores of members of the public said the temporary traffic pattern, delineators and narrowed driveway approaches have created safety problems for pedestrians, schoolchildren and drivers and are already reducing customer traffic at downtown businesses. Several business owners described sharp drops in sales and asked the city and Caltrans to reopen lanes or otherwise change the temporary configuration while the project is on pause.

Project scope and schedule
Caltrans said the work covers roughly a two‑mile segment (post miles 7.4–9.5), includes reconstructing sidewalks and curb ramps, adding landscaping buffers, improving crosswalks and signage, installing bike lanes and new drainage. A Caltrans representative said the contract was awarded in 2025 with construction starting in August and that the 200‑day clock measures working days, not calendar days.

Caltrans said excavation in September revealed a number of “utility conflicts” (existing water lines, sewer laterals and other in‑ground facilities) that were not found during preconstruction potholing and surveying. That discovery required plan revisions and the agency said engineers are finalizing those changes. The representative said Caltrans ordered prefabricated drainage inserts and expects delivery before construction restarts; however, the agency told the council it will wait until the rain season passes and reopen work in 2026 rather than resume major digging in the winter.

Key technical details discussed
- Contract award: approximately $7,000,000 (contractor named by Caltrans during the presentation).
- Work window: 200 working days (the agency stressed working days are counted only when weather and conditions allow active construction).
- Construction start: August 2025; excavation and potholing occurred in September.
- Utility conflicts: Caltrans reported numerous previously undocumented water and sewer laterals; the speaker said some sewer segments were heavily clogged and that plan revisions were needed.
- Drainage inlets ("DIs"): Caltrans said it found 12 DI conflicts on one side of the roadway and 4 on the other, and that prefabricated DIs have been ordered.
- Winterization: Caltrans said temporary ADA ramps and pavement patches were installed to make the corridor compliant and safe through winter; major dig work is planned to resume after the rainy season.

Council questions and Caltrans responses
Council members pressed Caltrans on timing, the potential for casting drainage components in place to avoid delay, the contractor’s availability, and safety concerns. A Caltrans representative said cast‑in‑place drainage would also require more working days and could still trigger winterization steps, and so would not necessarily avoid the overall schedule shift. On enforcement and incentives, the city said contract provisions allow the city or Caltrans to charge work days and apply penalties if a contractor is not working when conditions permit.

Public comment: safety, business losses and access
More than a dozen residents and downtown business owners spoke after the presentation. Common themes included:
- Safety concerns for pedestrians and schoolchildren at crosswalks that “end” midwork, and frustration that temporary lane shifts funnel traffic through narrow approaches.
- Complaints about delineators and lane closures that residents and drivers said create confusion and extra delay during school drop‑off and pick‑up.
- Specific access and economic impacts on downtown businesses. Mike Zilke said, “It’s a disaster. … The sidewalks are fine,” and questioned whether potholing was done thoroughly. Mike’s Pizza owner Dustin Yabardi told the council he had already recorded more than $10,000 in lost sales in two weeks and said, “I will lose over a $100,000 in sales by the time it’s complete” if the current pattern continues. Julie Douglas and other downtown merchants asked for “businesses open” signs and for Caltrans and the city to coordinate outreach to minimize lost customers.
- Requests that Caltrans restore left‑turn pockets or right‑on‑red signage at certain intersections and that the delineators be removed if the work will not resume until spring.

Caltrans and city follow‑up and next steps
Caltrans told the council it plans to share a three‑week look‑ahead construction schedule with the city engineer as plan revisions are finalized. Agency staff said they will review requests on traffic staging and signage, but that changes such as a right‑turn‑on‑red sign must go through traffic safety review. Caltrans also said it would re‑examine whether temporary delineators need to remain in place for winter and agreed to return with answers in the days following the meeting.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting; the presentation and the public comments were recorded as part of council updates and staff said they would work with Caltrans to get a prompt written response to the questions raised.

What remains unclear
Caltrans said it “secured additional funding” for parts of the project but did not provide a line‑item breakdown during the presentation. Exact delivery dates for the prefabricated drainage inlets were described as likely before construction restart, but Caltrans did not commit to a date that would allow digging before 2026. The city said it will press Caltrans for a written follow‑up and a schedule update.