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Council hears plan to prioritize utility-first paving using ARPA funds; staff outlines 2025–26 paving list
Summary
Public works staff told council they are prioritizing a utilities-first approach — delaying paving until known underground work is complete — and described ARPA-funded water/sewer projects that will be followed by overlays on affected streets in 2025–26.
Public works staff updated council on Jan. 13 about a multi-year shift toward a utilities-first paving strategy: the city is deferring paving where significant underground work is anticipated so that repaving follows completion of water, sewer or other utilities work.
Staff said the strategy emerged in 2019 and accelerated after the city received about $8 million in ARPA funds used for utility repairs and replacements; those projects required delaying repaving on multiple streets. The 2025 paving list, staff said, focuses on roads affected by ARPA-funded utility work — including Riggs Drive, Strawberry Lane, Millen Place and the Calhoun/Pickens/College corridor (referred to as West Calhoun) — and will use different resurfacing approaches depending on road condition and traffic volume.
Public works described mill-and-overlay on low- to medium-volume roads (milling 6 inches, leveling course and 2-inch overlay) as a durable approach and said patch-and-overlay remains the standard for isolated repairs. Staff said a larger 2026 overlay list depends in part on whether Elm Street streetscape work and railroad/bridge improvements are completed and whether a city budget request to finish Elm is approved.
Staff explained scheduling realities for paving contractors, saying some contractors require a year-long commitment and that seasonal windows affect when lines of work can be completed. Council members asked about equity across neighborhoods; staff said project selection considers need, deterioration rate, proximity to other work and potential developer or DOT projects that could alter timing.
Staff said the 2025 list represents roughly 10% of the city’s backlog of roads in lane-mile terms because the ARPA utility work compressed many projects into a short timeframe and created a larger-than-normal paving need. Staff agreed to share the department’s longer top-25 road list with council.
