MOORPARK : Tierra Rejada Road Project Launched

Moorpark officials gathered at an intersection Wednesday to formally launch a reconstruction project that will turn a bumpy, two-lane stretch of road into a freshly paved, four-lane, divided highway.

The reconstruction of Tierra Rejada Road between Spring Road and an area just west of California 23 will cost the city $1.65 million and take about nine months to complete, said Chris Oberender, the city’s manager for the project.

City efforts to rebuild the motor-unfriendly strip of asphalt over the past few years have been hampered by legal challenges by the Camrosa Water District and four other utilities that have now been settled.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Councilman Scott Montgomery said. “It’s an important project to the entire south side of the city and, while it should have happened sooner, we’re just glad that it’s happening.”

Montgomery and Councilman John Wozniak said the key benefit to Moorpark residents using Tierra Rejada will be increased safety.

“It’ll be a much safer road to travel on for the people who live over in that area,” Wozniak said. “That’ll be the final link on Tierra Rejada that’ll really make that a nice roadway all the way into Simi.” Many residents of the city’s Peach Hill, Mountain Meadows and Steeple Hill areas use Tierra Rejada to get to California 23.

The council awarded the road reconstruction project to R & H Paving of Saticoy on April 7. In doing so, Oberender said council members opted to keep at least one lane of the roadway open during construction, instead of closing the entire stretch.