Goodyear officials warn pavement condition could fall below target without more funding

Sumeet Mohan, Goodyear public works director, told the City Council on Sept. 8, 2025, that the city’s pavement condition index — an aggregate measure of street quality — could fall from about 75 to roughly 68 over the next four to five years unless the city increases funding for pavement treatments.

Mohan said staff will present the result of a fall 2025 full condition assessment and that the public works department will work with the finance department in the next budget cycle to seek additional funding for FY2027. "If our funding does not change, then the number of our PCI will continue to go down in the coming 4 to 5 years down to 68," Mohan said.

The update outlined the FY2026 pavement projects, treatment types and the city’s pavement-management philosophy. With the $4.3 million base budget approved earlier in the year, Streets Superintendent Brian Harvill said the city will complete preservation and rehabilitation treatments on about 55 lane miles of roadway in FY2026. "With that $4,300,000 approved budget, we will be completing pavement treatments on 55 lane miles of roadway," Harvill said.

Staff described three treatment types to be used: liquid road (a fiber-reinforced sealcoat) and microseal (a thin surface seal to restore friction), which the presentation categorized as preservation treatments, and mill-and-overlay, which is a rehabilitation that removes two inches of asphalt and replaces it. The presentation identified specific streets and neighborhoods scheduled for treatments in FY2026, including microseal on Palm Valley Boulevard and Estrella Parkway, liquid road in Canyon Trails and Scribe Village, and a mill-and-overlay of Loma Linda Boulevard from Central Avenue to La Jolla Boulevard.

City staff listed the assets the Streets Division manages: about 1,156 lane miles of paved roadway, 360,000 linear feet of sidewalk/curb/gutter, roughly 12,000 ADA ramps, 27 bridges and about 72 lane miles of unpaved roadways. Staff said the city rates pavement condition on a scale of 1 to 100 (the pavement condition index, or PCI). Goodyear’s internal target range is 76–78; the most recent PCI for FY2025 was presented as 75.4.

Officials told the council that inflation and rising construction costs have reduced the lane miles the city can treat with the same dollars. Staff presented a comparison showing treatment costs have risen since 2020 and said the amount of pavement that could be treated with a fixed budget has declined; as a result staff said the city is currently treating fewer lane miles per year than its 7–10 year preservation cycle would require. Mohan and Harvill said the fall 2025 objective condition assessment will provide updated, objective data to guide future prioritization.

Council members raised scheduling and operational questions. Councilmember Troy asked how long microseal operations typically disrupt a road; Harvill said work is staged by lane and that a one-mile section of a multi-lane road can take about a week, with some project sections scheduled to take about three weeks and coordinated around school spring break. Other council members thanked staff for the presentation and urged that future budget discussions consider raising pavement funding to restore annual treatment volumes.

Officials also noted a recently adopted city pavement-cut ordinance that requires pavement cuts to be restored to equal or better condition than the original surface. Mohan said the ordinance has reduced the "quiltwork" of patches that can undermine pavement structure and will help long-term PCI performance.

Staff did not request a council vote at the work session; instead they said they will return as part of the FY2027 budget process with funding options and the results of the fall pavement-condition assessment. The presentation and council comments focused on maintaining service levels, scheduling seasonally sensitive work (spring break, spring training) and pursuing additional budget authority to prevent longer-term decline in pavement condition.