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Public works outlines pavement-management plan to 'keep the good roads good' and urges incremental budget increases
Summary
Merrimack public-works staff presented a multi-year pavement preservation strategy that favors preventative treatments to extend pavement life and reduce full‑reconstruction costs; staff recommended incremental budget increases rather than a large bond.
MERRIMACK, N.H. — The Merrimack Town Council on Jan. 23 heard a detailed presentation from public-works staff on a pavement management and preservation strategy that emphasizes earlier preventative maintenance to extend roadway life and limit expensive full reconstructions.
Dawn (Public Works) told the council the town’s approach is to ‘‘keep the good roads good’’ by applying treatments such as crack sealing, fog sealing, bonded wearing courses, and—where necessary—full-depth reclamation and cold in‑place recycling. She said a small upfront investment in preservation can extend pavement life by several years and reduce the number of roads needing much costlier reconstruction later.
Dawn reviewed recent work and data: the town currently spends roughly $1.5–$1.7 million annually on roadwork across 181 miles of town roads, and the town’s overall pavement-condition index (PCI) is around the mid‑70s. Staff presented options ranging from expanded crack sealing (low cost per linear foot) to full reconstruction (much higher per‑foot cost). She described recent projects — Amherst Road, Pearson, Peaslee and Wire Road — that used full‑depth reclamation to restore base conditions and lengthen pavement life.
"A pavement has a life. It's not infinite," Dawn said. "You start out at the top...the key is to keep on top of it — keep the good roads good." She explained that crack sealing and fog seals are relatively low‑cost preservation measures that can add 4–7 years of useful life when applied before the point of irreversible decline, while full-depth reclamation is used on arterial and collector roads when base failure is evident.
Councilors asked about newer technologies the department plans to test. Dawn said the department will pilot a cold in‑place (hot‑mix‑recycling-style) process on a section of Meeting House Road that aims to reduce the vertical buildup that can make driveway tie‑ins problematic after reclamation. The department will continue to use borings and PCI scoring to decide treatments and said it plans a homeowner notification letter for affected abutters before major projects.
Why it matters
Town staff framed the program as preventative fiscal management: repeatedly cutting pavement budgets can yield temporary savings but increase long‑term costs as more roads move into the reconstruction category. Dawn urged small, steady budget increases rather than a single large bond, and recommended expanding crack sealing and preservation treatments to slow PCI decline.
Next steps
Public works will pilot the new recycling-based treatment on a short collector segment, finalize an outreach letter to abutters for this year’s planned roads, and factor preservation tactics into the upcoming budget process. Councilors signaled support for incremental budget increases and asked staff to provide cost/benefit comparisons for the FY 2026 budget cycle.
