Public Works reviews pavement management study; city faces trade-offs between major repairs and preventive maintenance

Hermosa Beach public works staff presented an updated pavement management plan and a set of budget scenarios showing how different funding levels would affect the city’s Pavement Condition Index (PCI) over the next decade.

Hee Cho Kwon, the city’s senior public works engineer on the project, told the Public Works Commission the consultant’s October–December field assessment produced a 2024 citywide average PCI of 68, down slightly from the 2021 study. The study used a PCI model and field observations; Kwon said the study used pavement-management software originally developed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that consultants Somas and GMU conducted the work.

Why it matters: PCI is the city’s standard metric for pavement condition (100 is new pavement, 0 is failed). The study mapped typical preservation strategies to PCI ranges: preventive maintenance such as crack sealing and slurry seal for higher PCIs (typically >60–70), grinding and overlay for mid-range PCI (50–69), and full reconstruction for very low PCI (below 25). Kwon said the plan includes four budget scenarios: current…