Prescott City outlines $10 million pavement preservation push after technical survey

Janet Ramsey, public works, and Greg Patrick, pavement program manager, told the City of Prescott City Council on March 11, 2025, that a technical roadway survey and a data-driven pavement management program are guiding the city’s street repairs and preservation work.

The visitors’ van and equipment used by Roadway Asset Services (RAS) produced a citywide pavement condition index, or PCI, of 74 — described in the presentation as “satisfactory.” Ramsey said the city has budgeted about $10,000,000 for pavement-preservation work this fiscal year, with an additional approximately $4,000,000 targeted for reconstruction projects that require utility coordination and engineering.

The presentation emphasized preservation because it extends pavement life at far lower cost than reconstruction. Ramsey and Patrick cited a preservation cost of roughly $12 per square yard for treatments such as microseal and chip seal, versus roughly $500 per square yard for full reconstruction.

“This objective data lets us make a formula based on our budget,” Ramsey said, arguing the program reduces subjective “squeaky wheel” decisions and targets work where it yields the most life-cycle benefit.

Patrick described the technical workflow: RAS collected laser, camera and sonar data across the city’s paved, dedicated roads, staff grouped similar segments into “super segments,” and the city runs scenarios in the pavement-management software to prioritize projects. Patrick said staff completed nearly 32 centerline miles of pavement work since July and validated that preservation treatments frequently return PCI scores from the 30–60 range up into the 80s and 90s in the short term.

Citywide totals and condition breakdowns were cited in the presentation: Ramsey said more than 61% of the city’s pavement inventory sits in the “fair” band, nearly 28% in the “good” band, and under 8% in backlog conditions that require reconstruction. Ramsey and Patrick said the preservation focus allows the city to cover more roadway and reduce long-term costs.

Staff listed specific and upcoming projects. Patrick said crews or contractors will apply surface treatments or microseals next week on Whipple Street, Montezuma (Willow Creek to LaGuardia), and Gurley Street (Bradshaw to Virginia). Patrick also showed before-and-after examples on West Merritt, Meadow Ridge and Rim Trail where a thin overlay or cape seal raised PCI scores by dozens of points. He said a seal-coat program using tire-rubber modified slurry (about 20–27 tires per mile) will be applied on Willow Lake Road, Williamson Valley Road, Iron Springs Road, Gale Gardner Way, Ferris Street and Haciampa Village Lane starting in April and finishing in June.

Council members pressed staff for clarifications. Councilwoman Freeworth asked how many centerline miles the $10 million buys; Ramsey said staff will provide a fiscal-year summary and a five-year rolling plan tied to budget briefings. Councilman Moore asked why some streets such as Whipple and Ruth require frequent repair; staff cited heavy traffic, topography, drainage, underground utilities and freeze-thaw cycles as contributing factors. Ramsey said the city avoids doing preservation work ahead of major utility projects to prevent rework.

Ramsey requested approval on the upcoming Whipple/Montezuma/Gurley project to allow night work to reduce traffic impacts; she indicated the night-work request would appear on the consent agenda at the next voting session. Patrick said many preservation treatments are applied as surface sprays or thin overlays and are therefore far less costly than full reconstruction.

Staff recommended continued public information on the five-year rolling plan so residents can see where their streets fall on the schedule. Ramsey said the updated PCI is an improvement from roughly 65 in the prior index to 74 now, which she attributed to slightly increased funding and added preservation work this year.

The council heard no public comment on the pavement items and thanked the streets staff for their work.

Next steps: Ramsey and Patrick will finalize super-segment groupings, provide updated maps as new work is completed, and deliver a clearer miles-per-dollar accounting tied to the FY26 budget discussions and the five-year rolling pavement plan.