Smoother days are ahead for anyone who regularly drives or bikes on Loma Vista Road.

With the sewer replacement project completed, the city is moving forward with repaving the street that has been battered by winter rains and heavy equipment from hospital construction. If all goes as planned, the paving work will begin in late September.

The Ventura City Council on July 24 approved a $848,600 contract with Granite Construction Co. for the street paving.

The repaving work comes after Toro Enterprises Inc. replaced 4,500 linear feet of existing clay pipe that started at Seaward Avenue and stopped near Ventura County Medical Center, rehabbing manhole covers along the way. Toro still has paving and punch list items to complete.

When the paving work begins, the contractor will start with sidewalk and ADA ramp work followed by a milling process to remove the top 2 inches of the existing pavement. Deeper potholes are fixed and then a 2-inch rubberized asphalt overlay is put down on Loma Vista Road from Main Street to Mills Road. New striping improvements will be coming to the street.

The City Council is expected to award the contract at its July 24 meeting and the resurfacing project should take less than 45 days.