Novato Spent Years Reopening the Same Streets. This Fall's Projects Are Designed to Stop That.

"It's going to be another 24 months of dirt, dust, noise," Public Works Director Chris Benigni told the City Council in late August, according to the Marin Independent Journal. He added that the community "has dealt with a lot as PG&E and the private utilities have been doing their undergrounding work for years now."

If you drive Novato Boulevard every day, the first half of that quote is the part you'll notice. The second half explains the plan behind it. The three public projects starting or finishing in Novato this fall share one idea. Each street is supposed to be opened once, with every agency that needs to dig doing it together, and then left alone. Novato Boulevard, Redwood Boulevard and the park at Hamilton each follow that idea in their own way.

Why the PG&E work came first

The Novato Boulevard plans date back to 2001, and the council approved the current designs in 2018. The city's project page says the road work would come after PG&E's Rule 20A project, which moves overhead electric lines underground along parts of the boulevard. That's why so many trenches have come and gone on this stretch over the past few years. Wiring had to go underground before anyone could build a new road on top of it.

According to the City of Novato's October 2026 update, PG&E has now substantially finished its main gas and electric underground work along the corridor. Electrical service cutovers, removal of overhead equipment and telecom work will continue into 2027. That leftover utility work will overlap with the road rebuild for a while, and the city says it will coordinate with PG&E to limit overlapping traffic impacts.

The contract took two council votes. The council first approved a $16.8 million contract with Team Ghilotti on August 25, and a bid protest arrived a few hours before that meeting. On September 22, listed as item I.1 on the council agenda, the council denied the protest and awarded Team Ghilotti the $16,824,358 contract. Both votes were 4-0, with Councilmember Sandeep Karkal recused because he is general manager of the Novato Sanitary District, one of the project partners. In August the city expected work to start in late September. It now expects late October or early November 2026, lasting about 18 to 24 months. Counted from a November start, that puts completion somewhere between spring and fall of 2028.

Three agencies under one contract

The rebuild runs from Diablo Avenue to Grant Avenue. It is one contract shared by the City of Novato, North Marin Water District and Novato Sanitary District. The city says combining the work is meant to "minimize repeated disruptions to the community" instead of having each agency open the road on its own schedule.

Each agency is doing a different job underground. The Marin IJ reported that the sanitary district is replacing aging sewer laterals, the water district is replacing water lines that run from nearby houses, and the city is adding new stormwater pipes before it rebuilds the surface. The money is split the same way:

Benigni said those shares could change once actual bids are compared with estimates, and both districts have to approve any change. The September 22 action also approved a $7.5 million budget amendment for fiscal year 2026/27.

City Manager Amy Cunningham called it "a massive project for the community" in the same IJ report. The city says to expect periodic delays, lane restrictions and temporary changes to access, with access kept open wherever feasible. A dedicated construction page with schedules and traffic updates is being built. The city's current page says a link should be posted soon, so the main project page is the place to watch for detour details.

What the boulevard will look like when the cones come down

The 2018 design gives the corridor a different lane setup on each segment instead of one layout end to end:

1. Diablo Avenue to 7th Street/Tamalpais Avenue: one through lane in each direction with a center two-way left-turn lane, plus a second northbound lane between Boulevard Terrace and 7th Street/Tamalpais Avenue.
2. 7th Street/Tamalpais Avenue to Grant Avenue: two northbound lanes, one southbound lane and a center two-way left-turn lane.

The whole stretch also gets continuous sidewalks on both sides, Class II bike lanes in both directions, new traffic signals at Diablo Avenue, Seventh Street and Grant Avenue, updated crosswalks and street lighting, and drought-tolerant, fire-wise landscaping. "We're drastically increasing safety in that corridor for all modes of transportation," Benigni said, as quoted by the Marin IJ.

Redwood Boulevard gets sealed off from new digging

Redwood Boulevard follows the same dig-once idea, and the city states the rule outright. The 2026 Annual Pavement Rehabilitation project covers Redwood Boulevard from Rowland Boulevard to Rush Creek Place. Once it's done, that segment falls under a five-year excavation moratorium, and the city required all planned utility work to finish before paving started. In practice, utilities had to finish their digging first, and fresh pavement should stay unbroken until about 2031.

Paving started on Thursday, September 10, with work hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Crews did overnight layout work on October 12 to prepare for permanent striping, and the city expects to finish by late October. The biggest change for daily use is a Class IV bikeway along nearly the entire project. Bollards, curbs or planters will physically separate bike traffic from cars, unlike a painted lane. The Marin IJ reported the protected path running from Rowland Boulevard to Diablo Avenue under a construction contract of nearly $1.4 million, which the council authorized July 28. The city's $1.9 million figure is the full project estimate, which also covers project development and construction management.

At Hamilton, one closure covers the park's whole to-do list

Hamilton Amphitheater Park at 601 N. Hamilton Parkway follows the same approach on a smaller scale. Instead of a string of separate fixes, the city's $700,000 project handles everything at once. The sand under the playground will be replaced with poured-in-place surfacing, the play structures will be replaced, and the gazebo will be refurbished. The project also adds new sensor-operated accessible drinking fountains with bottle fillers, remodels the restroom, and improves the parking area, driveway and accessible path from the lot to the playground. Construction was scheduled to start in mid-October 2026.

The Marin IJ reported a music theme drawn from the park's amphitheater history, a main play structure with a sun cover, more swings including an infant swing, and a new mural next to the playground. The mature shade tree will stay. That article expected work to start in summer. The city's schedule has since moved to mid-October.

When it reopens, the park will have a new name. On July 14 the council voted 4-0 to rename it Mark J. Milberg Community Park, after the late former mayor who represented District 5, which includes Hamilton. Councilmember Tim O'Connor proposed the renaming with Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Jacobs. At a June council meeting he said, as the IJ reported:

"Prior to his passing, he frequently expressed support for continued investment and improvements to the park."

The city plans a dedication and ribbon-cutting once the work is finished.

The downtown calendar at the Grant Avenue end

The Novato Boulevard project ends at Grant Avenue, at the edge of downtown, and the season's events there are going ahead on schedule:

1. Saturday, October 24, 3 to 6 p.m.: The city's Día de los Muertos celebration at Civic Green, 901 Sherman Avenue, adds a car-ofrenda display this year, with food from Manny's Tacos and Tommy's Salsa.
2. Tuesday, October 27, 4 to 7 p.m.: The last Downtown Novato farmers' market of the season, on Sherman Avenue between Grant and De Long.
3. Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Downtown Novato's Safe Trick or Treat at participating downtown businesses.
4. Saturday, December 5, 4 to 7:30 p.m.: The Community Tree Lighting Festival, with live performances, vendors and Santa arriving by firetruck.

If you have questions about the PG&E utility work that's still underway on the boulevard, the city lists PG&E Outreach Specialist John Baston at (707) 867-9466.

A two-year rebuild on a main road changes more than your commute, especially if you live near it or are thinking about a sale before 2028. Tiffany has spent more than 26 years helping North Bay homeowners plan around exactly this kind of timing. If you'd like to talk through how the Novato Boulevard schedule fits with your own plans, Tiffany Knef is happy to help. Schedule a free consultation.