In March, the aftermath of winter rainstorms wreaked havoc on Lopes Road, causing a failure that broke the City of Benicia's water supply line and damaged other underground utilities in the City of Fairfield. Over the course of several months, these two cities have cooperated in not only temporarily reestablishing Benicia's water supply but also devising an engineering solution to restore shared underground utilities. In the pursuit of financial support, both cities have collaborated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) to seek public assistance grants, according to the Fairfield City News.
In mid-March 2023, the hillside west of Lopes Road became saturated from the winter rainstorms, causing a failure in Lopes Road that broke the City of Benicia’s water supply line and other underground utilities.
— cityoffairfieldca (@cityoffairfield) September 27, 2023
For a status update, visit https://t.co/H6msmpR8gr pic.twitter.com/nWqU1Sfb2Y
With a fence now installed across Lopes Road's north and south ends to preserve the security of the affected area, one might wonder how far along this joint recovery project has come. While both the Cities of Benicia and Fairfield have issued requests for proposals for engineering and design works, these proposals are currently under review, with no definite timeline for resolution.
For updates on the joint recovery project and other information related to Lopes Road, individuals are encouraged to visit the City of Fairfield's website, www.fairfield.ca.gov/lopes, as well as familiarize themselves with the larger public assistance grant process by visiting FEMA's guide to public assistance grants.
