Fort Worth staff present 'a la carte' street‑maintenance packages as revenues tighten

Fort Worth transportation officials on Tuesday presented an "a la carte" set of optional funding packages designed to slow deterioration of the city’s street network and reduce future reconstruction costs as the city prepares a tighter FY26 budget.

City staff said the city’s pavement‑condition analysis shows an average annual maintenance need of about $98,000,000 and, after counting existing PAYGo (pay‑as‑you‑go) funds, a recurring funding gap of about $66,100,000. Staff said the city allocated $10,400,000 toward street maintenance in FY25, leaving roughly $55,700,000 remaining. The FY26 proposal offers two PAYGo contract packages totaling $10,000,000 and a proposed in‑house general‑fund preservation package of $2,900,000, for a possible $12,900,000 increase this year if council selects all options.

The plan aims to limit the city’s growing backlog by funding preventative maintenance (in‑house, lower cost) and contract maintenance (PAYGo). "If we only fund the PAYGo maintenance, the risk that we run is that the good condition streets will deteriorate into that yellow and red category faster than we can fund the expensive projects out of it," Lane Zarate, assistant director for streets and stormwater operations, said during the presentation.

Why it matters: staff and an independent consultant, Freese and…