In Carson: More work on Curry might be required

Additional work might be required on South Curry Street, which reopened last month after extensive upgrades to the road and infrastructure in the area.

The city hasn't signed off on the road work, however. Initial inspection and testing indicates the street might require a slurry seal. Metcalf Builders, the contractor, is having a separate test conducted on the road and its results should be known in a week or two.

"If the test comes back good, they won't have to do it," said John Platt, a public works construction inspector for the city.

If the additional work is necessary, it could be done without closing down the street entirely. And wouldn't take a significant amount of time to complete, no more than a day. Restriping could be done later, according to the city.

"It's really a simple thing," said Russ Fiddyment, a senior project manager for Metcalf.

Visible from South Curry Street is the state-of-the-art $11 million Galaxy Theatre, which has its parking lot driveway pointing out to Curry. It will have 10 movie screens and digital sound. Originally scheduled to open in July, it's now expected to begin operating in August.

And the opening of a 65,000-square-foot Courtyard by Marriott has been pushed back to early 2008 instead of the previous December 2007 target date, according to Casino Fandango. Both projects are additions to the gaming business, which is also adding more casino space.

Otherwise "everything looks on track," said Samuel Arellano, director of marketing for the casino.

Metcalf intends to do the road seal before Galaxy Theatre opens, Fiddyment said.

"It would be a mitigation measure," said Jeff Sharp, deputy city engineer. With street projects, "this comes up quite frequently."

The slurry will better protect the road and keep out moisture that could compromise its foundation and make long-term maintenance more costly.

The city will end up taking care of the section of South Curry between Clearview and Koontz beginning about a year from now, Sharp said.

Fandango is paying about $1.9 million of the total cost for the $3.6 million project from Clearview Drive to Koontz Lane.

The city has long-term plans for improvements to Curry north almost to 10th Street. This work is expected to occur over several years. The entire South Curry project is estimated to cost $5 million to $6 million, said Andy Burnham, the city's public works director.