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City presents 2025 street maintenance plan; $286,000 estimate to fund overlays and chip seals
Summary
Public works staff presented an assessment that rated Ottawa streets at an overall PCI of 2.95; staff proposed mill-and-overlay and chip-and-seal projects priced at an estimated $286,000 to be funded from the special streets fund.
Director of Public Works (presenter listed as Director Welsh) delivered an overview of the city's 2025 street maintenance plan on April 16, reporting results of a 2024 pavement assessment and recommending targeted preservation and rehabilitation work.
The consultant survey covered about 95 miles of roadway (excluding brick streets) and produced a pavement condition index (PCI) network score of about 2.95 on a five‑point scale where 5 is worst and 1 is best. The assessment produced nearly 2,000 individual segments for staff review. Director Welsh described typical preservation actions tied to PCI bands: low-numbered segments generally require crack sealing or minor sealing; mid-range segments commonly need chip seals or rejuvenators; high-number segments (PCI 21–40 or red-rated segments) commonly require mill-and-overlay or full reconstruction.
Staff proposed two mill-and-overlay segments (Seventh Street from Cedar to Cherry and Fourteenth Street from Main to Cedar), and nine chip-and-seal segments for 2025. The city's engineer estimated $144,000 for the mill-and-overlay items and about $142,000 for the chip-and-seal items, a combined engineer estimate of $286,000 to be funded from the special streets fund in 2025.
Commissioners asked about pavement life cycles and priorities. Welsh described a preservation lifecycle (initial maintenance after year three, crack sealing every few years, deeper rejuvenators around years 12–15, and mill/overlays at 15–20 years, with full replacement often required near year 40). Commissioners also asked how reconstruction priorities would be set; Welsh said traffic counts, connectivity to schools and hospitals, and staff knowledge would inform sequencing, and that staff has begun compiling a reconstruction list but would return with additional financial detail.
The consultant's map excluded brick roads from the 2024 assessment; brick streets were noted as a separate, larger issue that will require further study. Welsh said the pavement-management interface could be published as static map images for public review but not in the interactive form shown to the commission during the presentation.
No formal funding appropriation or contract award occurred at the meeting; the presentation served to inform commissioners and to receive feedback. Staff indicated the project list and reconstruction estimates can be provided to commissioners and posted for public information.
