Work over the past several weeks in the downtown Escalon area has seen a smoothing of several streets and some new additions.

A slurry seal project along portions of Main and several side streets has helped make for a smoother ride, said officials, while a number of crosswalks had new markings done and were re-painted to make them more visible.

City officials said the project was done by VSS International, with the markings done by their subcontractor, Sierra Traffic Markings.

The slurry seal was done in mid-July, with striping/marking being done later in the month.

Also recently added at several locations were a sort of rumble strip; thermoplastic traffic control raised dots adhered to the road surface.

“We had them add the rumble strips as a way to slow down motorists,” explained City Manager Tammy Alcantor, with that work done by the Sierra Traffic Markings firm out of Roseville.

The rumble dots are near the stop sign at Main and Fourth, closer to the Fifth Street intersection, to warm motorists to slow down as they approach the stop sign, as well as on the curve at Main as it transitions in to Santa Fe, which also is known as an area where drivers are often going above the speed limit as they enter or exit the community.

“Instead of a speed bump, we decided to do these rumble bumps,” Alcantor said.

With the crosswalks, she said there haven’t been any new ones added but the markings, especially on Main Street and at several side streets, had faded over the years. Now, they are bright white and highly visible, another effort to improve safety.

“They may be more noticeable now,” said Alcantor.

Funding for the work, the city manager added, came through SB1, the gas tax that was enacted to help finance street repair and roadwork projects.