Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Marin County where we live. It extends almost 44 miles from the western end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (over San Francisco Bay) westward to the Point Reyes Lighthouse at the tip of the Point Reyes Peninsula. The section from where it exits under US 101Greenbrae interchange to the town of Ross, is heavily trafficked. That is the segment that was to be rehabilitated beginning in the summer of 2020.
The San Rafael construction firm of Ghilotti Bros. was hired for the project. There were meetings for community comments. We found out at one of those meetings that the back-up beeps for the equipment would be muffled. A nice touch.
When I observed the operations, the Ghilotti Bros. displayed fine teamwork, were approachable for photographs as were all their subcontractors. The best were Mike Brown Electric Co. at traffic signal installation. It appeared as if I were watching a choreographed ballet.
I was intrigued & loved watching the unusual pieces of equipment, some I had never before seen. Even as a child, my favorite to watch was the steam roller. I was told that the Ghilotti Bros. own all their machinery; impressive. Their trucks had a distinctive paint job. Years ago one worker said he felt like he was driving a circus vehicle.
The Ghilotti Bros. workers & their subcontractors had varying uniforms. What was pretty evident was often the lack of masks and/or eye protection; even when caustic materials were being used or debris was flying about.
The project was completed on time in 2022 but the landscaping had to be postponed until 2023 because of the drought Marin County had experienced.
