Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pavement Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carson City staff update RTC on pavement-performance model; citywide PCI averages down slightly
Summary
Carson City transportation staff presented updated pavement-performance curves and a December 2024 pavement condition survey showing a citywide average PCI of 60, regional PCI higher than local, and continued projections that maintaining current conditions requires more than $20 million annually.
Chris Martinovich, Transportation Manager, presented the Regional Transportation Commission with the 2025 update to Carson City’s pavement performance model, which incorporates the city’s December 2024 field survey and revised performance curves derived from the PAVER pavement asset-management software.
Martinovich reported Carson City maintains about 287 paved centerline miles (approximately 83 miles classified as regional collectors and arterials, and 204 miles classified as local roads). Using the December 2024 survey, staff calculated a citywide average pavement condition index (PCI) of about 60, with regional roads averaging roughly PCI 69 and local roads roughly PCI 55. Martinovich said the new, locally calibrated performance curves generally show slower deterioration than previous models but that the long-term projections still show substantial decline: by 2050 regional roads are projected around PCI 51, local roads around PCI 26 and a citywide average near PCI 35 under current funding scenarios.
Martinovich explained material differences in asphalt binders: non–polymer-modified binders (the majority of Carson City’s older pavements) and polymer-modified binders used in newer reconstruction, with polymer-modified pavements offering improved performance at both low and high temperatures. He said Carson City is switching toward polymer-modified mixes for new work, which NDOT also uses for state routes. He also reminded commissioners that the PAVER projections are updated as staff collect more field data; newer polymer-modified pavements lack long-term (30+ year) datasets in Carson City.
On annual funding need, Martinovich said the model still points to an annual maintenance and preservation need exceeding $20 million to hold current pavement conditions; he emphasized that the updated curves produced only modest net change to earlier projections. He directed commissioners to an interactive online map (via QR code in the packet) so residents can look up PCI values for individual streets.
Commissioners asked staff to run scenario analyses (for example, the effect of a quarter-cent sales tax dedicated to roads) in a future briefing; Martinovich said staff can prepare funding-scenario runs and recommended returning to the board later this year with more detailed scenario comparisons, possibly timed with bond discussions.
