Olivehurst's Numbered Avenues Are Next in Line for Sidewalks and Storm Drains. Here's Where the Bids Stand.

Construction bids were due to Yuba County at 2 p.m. on October 8 for the Olivehurst Roadway Climate Resiliency Project. The project will add storm drains, curb and gutter, sidewalks, ADA ramps and bike lanes to 13 streets west of Olivehurst Avenue. A day later, the county's procurement portal posted an apparent-low-bidder notice, a bid tabulation and a notice of intent to award. The project page still shows the status as "pending." Construction isn't the next step. The next step is the Board of Supervisors awarding the contract.

For people who live on these streets, the part of the project that reaches their own driveway is already underway, and it's a form. The county has been asking property owners to sign a Permit to Enter and Construct. That permission is what lets crews tie the new street into each driveway, fence line and drainage path along the route.

The streets on the list

A county staff report from August 11, 2026, sets the project limits and describes "thirteen (13) streets in the heart of the community."

The bid documents list the work as storm drain systems, curb, gutter, sidewalk, ADA ramps, bike lanes, striping and traffic control devices. Road rehabilitation and drainage-related improvements are folded in as well. On the county's project page, the first listed benefit is safer walking and biking for students, "particularly those attending Ella Elementary School."

The drainage piece is new for these blocks. A California Transportation Commission fact sheet calls this phase "a first-ever storm drain system serving 13 roads in the community of Olivehurst," covering more than a third of the community. In its August report, the county describes the project's purpose as fixing standing water on streets during heavy rain and adding safe routes for walking and biking. It names the storm drains as the primary benefit.

The schedule has moved twice, and the paperwork keeps moving with it

The county has published two schedules for this project since June, and each one has been pushed back.

1. June 2026 plan. The county's project page on CivicMic showed bids advertised in April, opened in May, a contract awarded in July and groundbreaking in August 2026.
2. July 28, 2026 plan. A staff report to the Board reset the schedule: advertise in August, open bids in mid-September, award in November, with construction "tentatively scheduled for March 2027."
3. What happened. The solicitation went out August 26, and bids were due October 8 at 2 p.m. The bid results and intent-to-award notices posted October 9.
4. What's next. The construction contract still needs Board action. The Board's October 13 and October 27 agendas had no award item. The next scheduled Board meeting is Tuesday, November 10.

A November award would line up with the July plan, and that plan put the start of construction at March 2027. The county called that date tentative, and it's the latest start date the county has published.

Once the contract is signed, the bid documents give the contractor 500 working days to finish. On a five-day week, that's about two years of construction days before holidays and weather days are counted. For households on 4th Avenue or Tulsa Avenue, the realistic outlook is several seasons of trenching, curb forms and detours on streets they use every day, not one summer of disruption.

As of its October 9 update, the county's road delays page listed no closures for this project. The nearby Fleming Way work it mentions belongs to a separate Safe Routes to School project.

Where the street work meets each lot

New sidewalks and storm drains change the edge of every lot they pass. A driveway that used to slope straight onto the pavement now has to meet a new curb and gutter. A fence near the right-of-way may need to move. The county's form covers those changes. The Permit to Enter and Construct is addressed to the Yuba County Director of Public Works and reads in part:

Permission is hereby granted the County, or its authorized agent, to enter upon my property described as the APN or Address below, for purposes of constructing driveway conforms, drainage improvements, relocating fence and other miscellaneous items as necessary to conform to the County's street improvement project.

The form also says the permission "shall terminate upon completion of the project known as 'Olivehurst Roadway Climate Resiliency Project.'" The county's project page says that "in order for construction to move forward," property owners are encouraged to complete it.

That makes this project unusual among county road jobs. Paving a street mostly happens inside the right-of-way. Tying 13 streets into a new drainage system and continuous sidewalks means working on the strip where public pavement meets private driveways and fences. Each signed form covers one more lot where the county can finish that connection.

If you own property on one of these streets, it makes sense to read the full form and ask Yuba County Public Works how it applies to your lot before you sign. The department is at 915 8th Street, Suite 125, in Marysville, and its phone number is (530) 749-5420. The plans, specifications and estimate are available for review on request at that same office. This is general information, not legal advice, so if you have a question about your own property rights, talk to an attorney.

Who is building it, and who is paying

In late 2023, Yuba County received a $48.5 million grant for this project from the California Transportation Commission's Local Transportation Climate Adaptation Program. The commission's 2023 staff recommendation lists $48.477 million as both the grant amount and the total project cost. The engineer's estimate for the construction contract alone is $34,882,163. The rest of the grant pays for design, construction management and other work outside the construction bid.

Dokken Engineering finished the design with the Department of Public Works. On August 11, the Board voted unanimously to approve a $5,488,218.27 construction management agreement with Mark Thomas, paid entirely from the grant. Its scope includes public outreach, traffic management coordination, soils and materials testing, and storm water pollution inspections during construction. That puts Mark Thomas in charge of construction notices and traffic coordination once the work begins.

How these blocks fit the rest of Olivehurst

These 13 streets fill in gaps between corridors that already have the infrastructure. The county has already built storm drains, sidewalks and bike lanes or routes along Olivehurst Avenue, Powerline Road, Seventh Avenue, McGowan Parkway and part of Eleventh Avenue. When this project is finished, walking from 3rd Avenue to Olivehurst Avenue will mean following sidewalk instead of the road shoulder, and stormwater on Western Avenue will have a pipe to drain into.

The county has also applied for a second phase on Ardmore Avenue. Its 2024 application to the same state program describes about 4,795 linear feet of storm drain, 10,500 linear feet of sidewalk and Class III bike routes, plus crosswalks and ADA ramps. The estimated total is $12,892,000, with $10.7 million requested from the state. The application describes Ardmore as a primary county road with no storm drains, sidewalks or bike routes, and says the goal is "a comprehensive drainage grid serving the entire community."

The county's project page has a sign-up for email updates. It also has the posters from the October 23, 2024 community meeting in English and Spanish, and a Hmong-language version of the page. For bid notices and the eventual award, the Yuba County procurement portal lists the project under ID 102-2265.1.

If you own a home on one of these avenues and want to think through what a couple of years of construction might mean for selling, buying or just planning around it, Taylor Zapata can walk you through it in plain terms. Let's Connect.