New System Helps Identify Problem Roads

June 21, 2009 by Josh Morgan

Through a new road management system, the Town has been able to identify 30 roads that are in dire need of repair and rehabilitation.
Some of the work includes major structural improvements, while other roads need simple chip and crack sealing jobs. The cost to do work on the 5.5 miles of Cheshire roads is estimated to be nearly $1 million.
The Town invested in a Pavement Management System last fall to study all 151 miles of Cheshire roads. In April, the results were unveiled and, overall, Cheshire roads were graded around a C+. However, some roads, such as Devonwood Drive, Oregon Road, and Patton Drive were less than ideal. The system graded the roads on a 0-100 scale, with a score of 51-72 meaning that structural improvements were needed, while anything less than 50 would be a major project. A third of the proposed roads to be repaired in Town had a score less than 50.
“The Pavement Management System helped us narrow this down,” explained Joseph Michelangelo, director of Public Works. “We have 151 miles of road and around 350 roads in town. The system gave us a good overview of the roads and which ones needed more evaluation.”
Michelangelo explained the list of roads was originally double in size, but Town staff were able to take the results and narrow it down to a manageable project list.
“We gave a specific reevaluation to these roads to try and whittle them down to fit our funding,” he said. “We still had engineering and construction judgment involved. It is not just a computed list, but it did help with our decision making process.”
Michelangelo said the majority of funding would be spent on asphalt and milling the roads, but by chip- and crack-sealing roads, the Town could save on major issues in the future. Some of the roads are dead end streets and cul-de-sacs, and Michelangelo said the state of each road was taken into consideration more so than the amount of traffic it receives.
“We looked more at the condition and critical nature of the road,” Michelangelo said. ‘A lot of roads on that list are on the brink of falling apart.”
Town Manager Michael Milone said the Pavement Management System was “immensely useful” because it took out the ”subjectivity that couldn’t help but enter the process in the past.”
“We look at the roads, but never have we had the opportunity to have a comprehensive picture of every road in Town,” Milone said. “We knew we weren’t touching everything in town. Now, we have a rationale basis to make decisions and information to defend those actions.”
There is typically $300,000 to $400,000 in the Public Works operating budget for roadwork, Milone said, but the majority of the funding comes through the capital budget. Last year, voters approved a $1 million expenditure for roadwork and Milone expects to have similar funding requests come through the Council in future years.
“The operating budget is usually to do minor patchwork and the capital budget handles the major work,” Milone said. “Knowing what we have with the pavement management system, we can make better decisions and get the best return for our investment. We want to invest our money in the most prudent way possible.”
Michelangelo hoped to start the work by August 1 and complete the work in at least three different series. He said the price tag is just an estimate right now, as the cost of asphalt changes and “fluctuates considerably.” Michelangelo said each year the Town should expect to spend around $1 million to $1.5 million to “keep on top of our roads.” If the Town spends less than that, Michelangelo said there could be a “loss in quality.”