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Council hears options for $2 million supplemental concrete paving program; staff to return with district maps
Summary
Council reviewed two approaches for a $2 million per year supplemental concrete‑street program: apportioning funds by district or using a citywide worst‑first approach. Staff said the by‑district method preserves slightly more lane miles; some council members favored a citywide worst‑first allocation.
Wichita City Council examined options March 25 for a $2 million annual supplemental program to repair concrete streets in poor condition and asked staff to return with more detailed maps showing which streets would be preserved under each approach.
Staff said the supplemental program was added to the adopted CIP to address aging concrete streets that are expensive to repair under the regular program. The city’s modeling examined two alternatives: allocate the $2 million among council districts pro rata according to each district’s share of concrete street lane miles and then do worst‑first within each district; or spend the money citywide on the worst‑condition concrete streets first.
Presentations showed the by‑district approach preserved a slightly higher total of lane miles over the modeled period (about 19.68 lane miles versus 19.59 under citywide worst‑first), while the citywide worst‑first approach concentrated work in a smaller number of districts and produced a marginally higher starting pavement condition index in some years. Staff said either approach would be a substantial improvement over prior spending levels and recommended returning each year with updated modeling.
Council members voiced differing preferences: some supported the by‑district allocation to ensure each district saw preservation work; others preferred the citywide worst‑first approach because it would target the system’s weakest links first. Several members asked staff to identify specific residential streets and major intersections that would be preserved under each scenario so council members and residents can see local impacts.
Next steps: staff will produce district‑level maps and a before/after list of targeted streets for each option and bring the program back to council for annual approval.
