Street Maintenance FAQ

For garbage and clean green missed pickups, call Mission Trail Waste Systems at 408-727-5365.

For recycling missed pickups, call Recology at 408-970-5100.

Call Household Hazardous Waste Program at 408-299-7300.

Call the Santa Clara County Recycling Hotline at (408) 924-5453, or go to www.recyclestuff.org for information.

A computerized pavement management system is used to store the condition data of all roads. The system utilizes a computer model, which predicts the proper time to perform preventive maintenance work. To keep the system up to date, maintenance personnel periodically survey the condition of major streets to determine the condition of the pavement. The most cost effective pavement maintenance application is selected based on the amount of funding available each year and street need.

Tree roots, settling, and traffic may cause areas of settlement. Depending on the severity, the City may not take immediate action. Generally, repair work is limited to areas causing an immediate hazard - such as water ponding in the gutter that extends significantly into the asphalt. If there is an immediate hazard, repair work will be scheduled. Call the Public Works Inspector at (408) 615-3080 to schedule a field investigation.

Bumps and ruts at intersections are caused by vehicle tires shoving the asphalt as they turn, stop or accelerate, especially during hot weather when the asphalt is soft. Buses are very heavy vehicles, which place great stress on the pavement as they brake and accelerate. The County Transit Agency, as funds become available, has been replacing the pavement at bus stops with structural concrete to correct this problem. Intersection failures are fixed by the City, County, or State when a road is resurfaced.

A well-maintained pavement system reduces and postpones the need for reconstruction. Roadway reconstruction uses large amounts of non-renewable resources, oil and rock, as well as creates noise, dust and traffic disruptions. One of the responsibilities of the City of Santa Clara, Street Department is pavement maintenance. The goal of this service is to effectively and economically preserve the City's 220 plus miles of streets. Roads generally break up if preventive maintenance work is not done in a timely manner, or if there is more and heavier traffic on the roadway than it was built to handle, or when the soil beneath the roadway fails. Pavement maintenance services are provided under three programs to preserve and repair roadways:

• Preventive Maintenance
• Pavement Reconstruction 
• Emergency Services

For more information, see Pavement Maintenance Program.

Road closures are common during preventative maintenance activities. To minimize the inconvenience, posting of "No Parking" will be in place a minimum of 48 hours prior to work. In addition, each home will be notified by a door hanger specifying the exact date of work. Anticipate that road closures will occur for the following duration, depending on the preventative maintenance activity, and weather conditions. See preventative maintenance activities for information about:

• Crack Sealing
• Fog Sealing
• Slurry Sealing
• Chip Sealing
• Resurfacing

Vehicles left in the street will be towed. Your assistance in clearing the street is greatly appreciated. Access for emergency vehicles will be maintained at all times.