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Public works director warns pavement-condition index is slipping; recommends funding options and on-call repair contractor system
Summary
Public Works Director Brian Johnson updated the commission on street projects, the city’s Pavement Condition Index and a growing funding gap; staff proposed an on-call task-order repair program and said renewing a dedicated sales tax would be required to sustain current pavement conditions.
The city’s new public works director, Brian Johnson, told the commission Tuesday that Manhattan’s pavement-condition index (PCI) has declined since the program’s 2015 baseline and that maintaining the commission’s target PCI will require more funding than current streams provide.
Johnson reviewed streets currently under construction and the 2025 project list — including a near-term opening for a Denison intersection upgrade and a series of mill-and-overlay projects on College Avenue, Bluemont and other collector streets — and described schedule and traffic impacts for school-area work. He also outlined a proposed on-call task-order contract for medium-sized pavement repairs (200–2,000 sq. ft.) to accelerate response between major paving contracts.
On funding, Johnson told the commission the original 2015 analysis estimated roughly $4 million per year would be required to sustain a PCI of about 70; staff now estimates that same program-level work costs about $5.4 million annually after inflation and added lane miles. Current dedicated sales-tax revenue for street maintenance is about $3.1 million per year under the 0.2% special street sales tax that expires December 31, 2026; gas-tax (Special Street and Highway) and federal STP exchange funds remain roughly flat. Staff presented scenarios showing a 0.35% dedicated street sales tax (or equivalent revenue) would be needed to generate roughly $5.0–5.25 million per year to hold the PCI near the 70 target.
Johnson also reviewed the city’s completed projects since 2015, showed a map of prioritized corridors (including Claflin, Bluemont and Kimball) and highlighted two near-term issues: construction-phase left-turn restrictions planned during the Anderson/Timberlane work (no left turns during peak hours) and higher traffic on Marlatt because of a KDOT roundabout construction detour. He said staff is coordinating with the contractor and neighborhood to minimize peak-hour impacts and that enforcement would be by standard regulatory signage and police enforcement if necessary.
Commissioners asked for more detail on how PCI targets translate into types of treatment (routine maintenance vs. reconstruction) and for a clearer rotation plan by neighborhood; Johnson said staff will return this fall with a full citywide PCI update, degradation curves and a proposed zone rotation plan. Commissioners also asked for a clearer historical accounting of how much general-fund street maintenance was replaced by the current dedicated sales tax, and Johnson committed to pull historical budget numbers for the commission to review.
No legislative action was taken. Johnson said staff will return with bids for the on-call task-order system and the full PCI update this fall, and recommended the commission consider voter action on a dedicated funding renewal well before the 2026 expiration to avoid further decline in pavement conditions.
