Crews from Sully-Miller Contracting Co. are engaged in two segments of the California Department of Transportation's (Caltrans) $70.2 million State Route 2 project from Centinela Avenue in Santa Monica to the SR 2 terminus in Echo Park in Los Angeles.
The multimodal upgrades are rehabilitating sections of pavement along three segments in Echo Park, Hollywood and West Los Angeles to enhance safety and improve mobility.
Work on Segment A and Segment C began in October 2025, with both segments expected to be delivered in the fall of 2028. Sully-Miller also was awarded the contract for Segment B, which begins this summer.
Sully-Miller Contracting Co. photo
The project is rehabilitating pavement and installing or modifying concrete bus pads; upgrading curb ramps and crosswalks; replacing curbs and gutters; upgrading traffic signals and street lighting systems; and installing bicycle racks. Additionally, the project will implement approximately 2.8 mi. of designated bus priority lanes, upgrade the existing 26 traffic signals and 241 curb ramps, and reconstruct 37 transit stops.
Segment A is along Santa Monica Boulevard between Centinela Avenue and Interstate 405 in West Los Angeles (1.4 mi.), and Segment C is along Alvarado Street/Glendale Boulevard between the northbound U.S. 101 on/off-ramps and the northbound SR 2 terminus in Echo Park (1.5 mi.).
Segment B is along Santa Monica Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and U.S. 101 in Hollywood (2.1 mi.).
"Once complete, the project will extend the pavement life and enhance safety along multiple segments of SR 2," said Lauren Walike, a Caltrans public information officer. "The modifications will also preserve the environmental, scenic and aesthetic qualities of the SR 2 corridor. … Complete street elements are meant to improve transportation facilities and provide for an integrated multimodal system for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and buses."
The work includes the installation of rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFB), pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs), bike racks, bicycle boxes, bicycle and pedestrian signage, bioswale and transit stop improvements on all three segments.
Caltrans designed the project.
The project has Sully-Miller crews working five days/nights a week, and a handful of 14-hour weekend closures for bus pad reconstruction.
Sully-Miller Contracting Co. photo
Separate But Similar
Crews are conducting similar operations on Segments A and C.
"We are currently in progress for our concrete reconstruction," said Austin Graham, the project manager for Segment A. "We're currently upgrading the ADA ramps and sidewalks along Route 2, as well as doing the initial electrical for Segments A and C.
"Over the next year, we'll focus on concrete improvements and electrical upgrades. The concrete element will include reconstructing approximately 36 bus pads, which will take most of this year. In 2027, we will be doing a mill and overlay for the entire width and length of each segment."
The challenges for both segments are similar.
"The largest issue, just given the proximity of where we are working at," said Graham, "is the many agencies that have input towards this project. We're working for Caltrans, but it's within the city of Los Angeles and, in addition to Caltrans approval, everything also has to be approved by the LADOT and the city's bureau of street lighting, as well as standard Caltrans inspections. That in conjunction with the area being a heavily traveled thoroughfare … is a challenge to try and manage."
Paul Coburn, the Segment C project manager, noted that a big challenge with working within a busy city is the existing conditions.
Sully-Miller Contracting Co. photo
"Most of the time we are matching existing conditions at one point, and the existing conditions are not always what the previous as-builts plans say," he said. "Our removal crews have to excavate carefully for the potential of utility conflicts and/or other obstructions, and then our grading and concrete crews have to finish the job while matching existing conditions and building per the specifications in compliance for the final product."
Shared Resources
Although the sections are separated, resources and crews are being shared.
"We have project crews stationed in each segment throughout the duration of the work," said Graham, "but our specialty crews, such as paving and concrete, jump between both segments depending on the need for the work. This gives us the ability to maximize our output. We have stationed equipment for removals and concrete in each segment but, for the most part, the concrete crews travel with their own tools and equipment."
"Typically, our concrete crews will be working two to three nights in Segment A and two to three nights in Segment C each week, constantly pouring either curb and gutter or sidewalk in one of the locations," Coburn said.
The project is on schedule.
"We're more than 50 days into a 500-day working contract and still in the initial phase," Graham said. "We're slowly gaining ground and momentum. We're working through the initial hurdles that we encountered so far and getting onto a good path."
Crews are encountering native soils and working through them.
"Frequently, the quality of the soil is inadequate for compaction and pouring concrete on top of," Coburn said. "When that happens, Sully-Miller foremen and Caltrans inspectors meet and agree to overexcavate the depth and bring in rock or base to stabilize the ground for concrete work above."
The installation and modification of concrete bus pads, the upgrading of curb ramps and crosswalks, and the replacement of curbs and gutters are all going well.
"Right now, we are replacing all of the concrete improvements, and that includes main line curb and gutter, ADA ramps and spandrels, and sidewalk," Graham said. "We have a partial dedicated shift over the weekends to complete the bus pad reconstructions that should start in March. This will take a few months. Once all the concrete work is complete, we'll transition into the paving aspect of the project that will focus on the grinding and overlay work."
Sully-Miller Contracting Co. photo
The civil work operations involve demolition and excavation.
"We have been following the proposed layout for the removals and reconstruction," Graham said. "Our crews are following standard sawcutting, removals, grading and compacting for concrete and associated pavement work. We haven't come across anything too out of the ordinary."
The drainage work consists of removing and replacing sections of the existing curb and gutter drains, as well as pipes from buildings on either side of the highway.
"When we remove it, we have to remove the curb drain in the process and reinstall it as new," Graham said. "It is just 3- or 4-inch pieces of plastic pipe."
Pavement Plans
The plan for the pavement element involves two parts.
"There are a few identified areas where there are localized digouts," Graham said. "There is going to be a grinding down to the depths provided in the plans paving that back. The overall paving work will consist of grinding off two-tenths of an inch and repaving with a rubber hot mix with a 2-inch lift."
For the initial operations, crews are using backhoes, rollers, walk-behind compactors, breakers, skip loaders, skid steers and dump trucks and will use truck cranes for the installation of electrical poles.
For the pavement operations, equipment should include paving machines, skip loaders, dump trucks and compaction rollers. Sully-Miller often uses Quinn, John Deere and Case equipment, while its paving machine and rollers are from BOMAG.
Sully-Miller's management teams have worked together on previous projects.
"The crews are putting in a great effort," Graham said. "We initially started the project with day shifts. We were directed that an initial lane closure wasn't acceptable during the day, and we adapted our crews to work at night. We haven't skipped a beat since."
Typical days could have 20-40 Sully-Miller and subcontractor personnel on site. The main subcontractors are MSL for electrical, Diversified for landscaping, Frontline for permanent signage and BC Traffic for pavement striping and markings.
For both segments combined, crews have removed approximately 7,000 cu. yds. of concrete and excavated 3,000 cu. yds. of existing soil.
"We haul the concrete to our subsidiary, United Rock Products, who will then crush and turn it into CMB or CAB," Coburn said.
New materials include about 2,000 cu. yds. of new jointed plain concrete pavement for the bus pads, 5,000 cu. yds. of new minor Concrete for the curb and gutter, and sidewalks, as well as about 30,000 tons of hot mix asphalt, including 24,000 tons of rubberized hot mix asphalt.
As for equipment wear and tear, Coburn noted that the job is especially affecting tires.
"We do not have mechanics on site," he said, "but they are located in Irwindale and can be on site within the hour if needed. The keys to maintenance for multi-year projects are daily equipment inspections and addressing maintenance concerns promptly."
Sully-Miller primarily buys Fords for its pickup trucks and water trucks and buys construction equipment from Quinn Equipment, among others. CEG
