AGENDA #3c
BUDGET WORKING PAPER
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Bruce Heflin, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: Streets Maintenance List – Fiscal 2002-2003
DATE: April 24, 2002
The attached information related to prioritized streets for maintenance is in response to a request made by the Council at its budget work session on April 3, 2002.
DISCUSSION
The information on the attached list presents streets tentatively scheduled for maintenance next year. The priority order and type of maintenance proposed are based on the annual street survey by the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) and by a follow-up staff analysis of all streets within the Town.
The base budget request for street maintenance work next year includes the following amounts shown by category of work.
M and R Streets
Street Resurfacing and Milling $286,000
Slurry Seal $ 28,000
Additional Contract Patching $ 38,900
Crack Pouring $ 32,600
Total $385,500
Street Reconstruction
Curtis Road (portion) $ 64,800
Animal Shelter Drive (portion) $ 7,000
Total $ 71,800
Fiscal 2002-2003
The list below of streets that we recommend for resurfacing, in conjunction with those we recommend to receive slurry seal would result in a resurfacing cycle of 22.4 years. Our current funding request, along with previous allocations, would result in an average resurfacing cycle of 17.7 years over the past twelve years.
A standard of once ever 12 years is recognized by Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Corp of Engineers, the Asphalt Institute, American Public Works Association and other agencies. Generally, this time frame prevents long-term detrimental effects of roadway deterioration of such magnitude that result in costly repairs prior to an overlay. Since this is an average cycle, some roads may not be resurfaced for fifteen to twenty years while others may require resurfacing in eight or nine years. Variables such as pavement design, traffic volumes, traffic types (e.g., cars, buses, trucks, etc.), weather from year to year, pavement sub-base, etc., affect how long a given street lasts.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s publication “Road Surface Management for Local Governments” pavement life cycle analysis shows that the average street pavement quality drops 40% over the first 75% of life (approximately twelve years) after construction. Prior to this 40% drop in quality, the road condition is usually very good to excellent. If maintenance is postponed only briefly, even two to three years, then the drop in quality is another 40%, resulting in a poor condition. As a result, maintenance costs increase significantly when this happens.
Renovation maintenance (e.g., full-depth patching and street reconstruction) costs may be five times higher, or more, per square yard compared to preventive maintenance (e.g., crack pouring, skin-patching, slurry seals and overlays) cost if repairs by resurfacing are made after the first 75% of the life cycle.
While our total street maintenance budget request provides for a service life less than the national standard, we believe it would basically maintain our overall favorable ITRE ratings and meet our current basic needs.
The following list of streets shows streets that need repairs, and are listed in order of relative need. This list is subject to change depending on conditions existing at the time of work and actual unit cost to perform the work.
Street Resurfacing and Milling List ~$286,000
Street From To Condition Mill
Raleigh Street Country Club Road E. Franklin Street Very Poor
Resurfacing on the above street will be performed in conjunction with a water line improvement project. UNC has agreed to remove the existing asphalt and make significant sub-grade improvements. In return, we have agreed to be responsible for the final riding surface.
Street From To Condition Mill
McDade Street Cotton Street Church Street Poor Yes
Hamilton Road Raleigh Road Prestwick Road Poor
Cole Street Grant Street Crest Street Poor
Wesley Court Reade Road Dead End Poor
Canterbury Lane (E.) Burning Tree Drive Cul-de-sac Poor
Curtis Road Clayton Road S. Lakeshore Drive Poor Yes
We recommend reconstructing a portion of Clayton Road (900’) and milling and resurfacing the remaining sections (925”).
S. Lakeshore Drive Rolling Road Dead End Poor
Rogerson Drive Raleigh Road 150’ N. of Douglas Rd. Poor
Depending on the condition at the time of resurfacing, we may elect to go ahead and resurface the last section of Rogerson Drive (to Cleland Drive) to eliminate the need to pave a relative short segment of road in a few years. There are cost benefits associated with minimizing the number of contracted short overlays.
Van Doren Place Oak Park Drive Cul-de-sac Poor
We may elect to remove the asphalt and re-compact the sub-base vs. patching the areas that settled.
Dogwood Drive Westwood Drive Westwood Drive Fair Yes
Amesbury Drive Sweeten Creek Road Dead End Fair
Country Club Road Raleigh Road Ledge Lane Fair Yes
Taylor Street Airport Road Dead End Fair Yes
Clayton Road Caswell Road Cul-de-sac Fair Yes
Creekside Lane Cedar Fork Trail Dead End Fair
While the following two streets rate higher (Boundary Street and N. Graham Street), ITRE recommends that both be resurfaced.
Boundary Street Country Club Road E. Franklin Street Fair
N. Graham Street W. Rosemary Street Whitaker Street Fair Yes
Charlesberry Circle Fountain Ridge Road Cul-de-sac Fair
Wesley Drive Wesley Court Reade Road Fair
Timberhollow Court Piney Mountain Road Airport Road *Good
* Since the survey, Timberhollow Court has started to deteriorate rapidly on the Piney Mountain Road end and to show distress near Airport Road. We believe an overlay will add structural stability and minimize more costly repairs in the future.
Reade Road Bradley Road Wesley Drive **Good
Burris Place Wesley Drive Wesley Drive ** Very Good
** While both Reade Road and Wesley Drive received a high rating from ITRE, based on our review of these two streets, we believe both should be resurfaced at this time to improve the ride quality and protect the structural integrity.
Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) – Rating as of December 2001, for all town-maintained streets.
General Condition %
Very Good 70.3
Good 15.4
Fair 10.9
Poor 2.8
Very Poor 0.7
Slurry Seal List ~$28,000
While use of asphalt overlays has been our traditional approach to restore failing street pavements, it is cost effective for some streets to use an alternative known as slurry seal. This option consists of use of an emulsified asphalt and fine aggregate mixture applied to the riding surface of those streets having a sound riding surface, but of which are vulnerable to traffic and weather conditions. Such treatment seals and fills cracks in street surfaces and corrects crumbling and oxidizing pavement.
The use of this less costly option is appropriate for those streets which are not structurally deteriorating and which have riding surfaces that are basically sound. Slurry seal extends the life of such streets and provides a more efficient use of street maintenance funds. In addition, it has the relative advantage of deferring the need for future milling caused by successive asphalt overlays.
Street From To Last Paved # of Years
Jones Street Davie Circle Hill Street 1988 14
Valley Park Drive Hillview Road Intersection 1988 14
S. Estes Drive Extension Fordham Boulevard End of Maintenance 1988 14
Hill Street Jones Street Dead End 1988 14
Valley Park Drive Dead End End of Maintenance 1988 14
Caswell Road Estes Drive Cumberland Road 1988 14
Mendal Drive Timberhollow Court Dead End 1988 14
Sharon Road Ephesus Church Road Fountain Ridge Road 1990 12
Additional Patching Needs ~$38,900
A number of streets scheduled for resurfacing have been deferred due to pending OWASA and UNC improvement projects. As a result, we recommend resurfacing approximately 6 miles (excluding slurry seal) of streets vs. our original request of 7 miles. However, as a result of deferring some of these deteriorating streets, we need to perform additional contract patching beyond that originally requested. Therefore, we believe it would be prudent to allocate additional funds to address this need and prevent further deterioration. For example, funds would be used to perform contract full-depth patching along Ridge Road.
Street From To Condition
Ridge Road Country Club Road Manning Drive Poor
The need to perform patching along Ridge Road is primarily a result of heavy traffic loading and areas of poor sub-base. The majority of the multiple areas that need to be patched along this road could more efficiently be performed by a contractor with a small paver. Our current patching needs exceed our ability to perform all of the work in-house.
Crack Pouring ~$32,600
This process involves cleaning and sealing existing cracks in the pavement as a result of pavement shrinkage. This will stop water from penetrating into the sub-base, creating more expensive pavement failures. Crack pouring is widely recognized as a very cost-effective expenditure of funds. Streets will be selected town-wide based on current needs.
Street Reconstruction List
We recommend reconstructing a portion of Clayton Road (900’) and milling and resurfacing the remaining sections (925’). We also recommend reconstructing a short section of Animal Shelter Drive between Municipal Drive and the drive entrance to the transportation facility. This area is in need of reconstruction to support the heavy turning bus movements.
Street Est. Cost
Curtis Road $64,800
Animal Shelter Drive $ 7,000
Total $71,800
POTENTIAL REDUCTIONS
We are not recommending reductions in the requested appropriations for street maintenance work in next year’s base budget request. However, if the Council wishes to reduce funding levels, we suggest the following priority for making such cuts. The activity listed first, if cut, would have the least harmful impact on overall street conditions town-wide.
Maintenance Activity Cost Cumulative
1st – perform no slurry seal maintenance $ 28,000
2nd – reduce proposed addition to contract patching $ 16,900 $ 44,900
3rd – reduce allocation for crack pouring $ 12,600 $ 57,500
4th – eliminate remaining proposed allocation to contract patching $ 22,000 $ 79,500
5th – reduce allocation to street reconstruction $ 7,000 $ 86,500
6th – eliminate funding for the street rated very good $ 5,100 $ 91,600
Maintenance Activity Cost Cumulative
7th – eliminate funding for streets rated good $ 15,100 $106,700
8th – eliminate balance of funds for street reconstruction $ 64,800 $171,500
9th – eliminate funding for streets rated fair $144,000 $315,500
10th - eliminate funding for streets rated poor and very poor $121,800 $437,300
11th -eliminate balance of funds for crack pouring $ 20,000 $457,300