Arroyo Grande releases 13-year pavement schedule after E24 sales-tax measure; aims to raise average PCI to 70

At the April 22 Arroyo Grande City Council meeting, City Engineer Shannon Sweeney outlined a 13-year pavement management program intended to bring the city's average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) from about 57 toward a target of 70.

Sweeney told the council the city now maintains about 68 centerline miles of streets and has paved roughly 16–17 miles (about 25% of the system) over the past two years. The 2022 pavement management plan (PMP) estimated a wide range of annual funding needs — $6.3 million a year to maintain existing levels or up to $8.0 million a year to improve PCI — but Sweeney said staff reexamined the underlying Street Saver outputs and concluded the software's visual-condition assumptions are conservative for Arroyo Grande's conditions.

Using a neighborhood-grouping approach and a mix of treatments informed by deflection testing, staff produced a 13-year schedule (Attachment 1 to the staff report) that includes every street except three segments that require separate engineering solutions (Hardin off Mason, a segment of Coach, and a portion of Branch Mill). Sweeney said staff modeled year-to-year workloads so projects would be continuous by area, minimize multiple treatments and lower subcontracting costs, and better match sales-tax revenue from Measure E24 passed in November 2024.

Key elements Sweeney described:

- Current citywide PCI: 57; goal: 70. California average in 2020 was 66. - Street Saver limitations: its deterioration curves are calibrated to Bay Area conditions and assume visual-based treatments; structural deflection testing provides a more accurate determination of whether an overlay or full-depth reclamation is required. - Recent work: about 8 miles overlayed/overlay/slurry in last two years producing 12% of streets in —excellent— condition and 20% in —good— after recent work. - Curb ramps: of roughly 980 curb ramps the city assessed, only about 250 were identified as needing replacement rather than the near-total replacement Street Saver initially estimated. That narrowed scope reduced an engineer's initial curb-related estimate by roughly $1.3 million on a recent project, Sweeney said. - Budget framing: most years in the 13-year schedule show an annual construction need near $5.5 million; for fiscal 2025–26 the program relies on a mix of Measure E24 receipts, SB 1, grant carryover and specific project allocations (Halcyon Complete Streets is funded in part with E24). Sweeney included a $300,000 line per year for testing and design and earmarked $500,000 per year for sidewalks and active-transportation elements.

Sweeney said the plan schedules deflection testing for streets proposed in the first two years of construction to confirm structural needs before final design. Staff recommended updating the PMP with a third-party consultant within about two years so the PMP can reflect the most recent condition data.

Council members asked whether the E24 figures shown for 2025–26 represented the full amount expected from the measure and how flexible the program is if additional funds become available. Sweeney said the schedule is flexible but cautioned against doing treatments earlier than technical need would indicate because that can reduce overall cost-effectiveness. Councilmembers urged staff to provide a public-facing, map-based view of the schedule; Sweeney said attachment 1 contains neighborhood-level worksheets and staff would explore putting the schedule on a website so residents could check when their street is planned.

Public comment included one resident asking when and where work would start and another urging that the city rely more on in-house expertise to reduce consultant use. Sweeney and Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Bill Robison said staff will bring the pavement funding recommendations into the May 13 CIP budget presentation and proceed with deflection testing and design for the first-phase streets if council approves the CIP funding.

No formal vote was taken on the PMP itself at the April 22 meeting; staff requested direction and said the numbers will be included in the upcoming CIP and budget discussions.