Morgantown staff outline proposed paving list, say maintenance needs outpace current funding

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — City engineering staff on Tuesday presented an interactive, data-driven candidate list of streets the city proposes to pave, and told City Council members that recent assessments show maintaining current pavement conditions could cost roughly $4 million to $5 million per year. Residents asked that Pennsylvania Avenue be prioritized after a delayed water-line replacement.

The presentation by engineering staff, introduced by Damien Davis, director of engineering and public works, was led by an engineering staff member who described the pavement condition index (PCI) mapping, pavement age data and candidate streets for a proposed 2025 contract that would pave roughly 6½ to 7 miles of city streets.

The discussion matters because city leaders must balance limited paving dollars, coordinate with utility work and meet federal accessibility obligations such as ADA curb-ramp upgrades when setting which streets to include in annual contracts. Staff said the city currently spends about $1 million a year on contracted paving and that the new assessment suggested $4–5 million annually would be needed to maintain the city’s road network at its present condition.

Engineering staff explained how the online map breaks the city into nearly 2,000 segments and shows PCI scores, pavement age and surface type. "A pavement that is anywhere above like a 56 in a standard pavement condition index ... is going to be a pretty fine pavement to drive on," the staff member said. Staff noted the dataset includes state-owned roads so the city can compare road conditions across jurisdictions.

Staff said age and condition are related but not identical; the most recent condition scoring was gathered in February 2024, before that year’s paving work, so some scores predate recent paving projects. They said the proposed 2025 candidate list excludes North Street, which is under separate construction, and includes streets in most wards; staff noted there are no items currently proposed in the Fourth Ward because of recent work there.

Residents and council members pressed staff on coordination with utility projects. The staff member said the Monongalia Utility Board (MUB) and other utility owners have requested paving lists earlier in recent years, and that the city and utilities are still iterating plans to reduce instances of freshly paved streets being torn up for utility work. "We are coordinating better, but if they need a project on a street that we are really itching to pave, maybe they need to help prioritize," the staff member said.

On Pennsylvania Avenue, resident Hillary Woodrum told council that her street had been scheduled for paving last year but was postponed because MUB replaced a water line. "The street is still ... very bumpy and, you know, poorly patched," Woodrum said. Staff confirmed Pennsylvania Avenue is on the proposed list and said it is ready to be paved after the water-line work.

Council members also asked about reconstructing North High Street and North Street in the university area, where historic brick surfacing has been failing. Staff said the city intends a complete reconstruction on that corridor rather than a temporary overlay: "We intend to completely reconstruct the entire surface," the engineering staff member said, noting West Virginia University has been accelerating related utility work in the same area.

Staff described the cost drivers that affect whether the city repaves a segment: surface reconstruction can require full replacement of ADA curb ramps (the state’s current cost estimate for a ramp is about $7,000), coordination with utilities, and whether the work can be grouped to reduce contractor mobilization costs. The staff member said curb ramps are about halfway complete across the city and that finishing them reduces recurring costs because ramps need not be redone after overlays.

Council reached consensus in the Committee of the Whole to move the proposed paving list forward for bidding. Committee of the Whole meetings are intended for discussion and identification of options; staff told council the list would be part of the formal agenda process in August for additional review.

Staff said the full 2024–25 pavement assessment and a multi-year capital plan will be published and shared with council. They encouraged council members and residents to use the interactive map and to submit local observations to inform the assessment.

Less critical details: staff said some segments in the dataset are tagged with an artificial year (1969) where no reliable past-work record exists, and the city stockpiles reclaimed brick from failing university-area streets for future trail and crossing work.