Public works outlines road maintenance progress, funding and repair priorities

Nicholas Johnson, engineering supervisor in Public Works Operations, briefed the Transportation, Airports and Public Works Committee on the city’s 2025 roadway maintenance program, presenting condition data, treatment options and a multi-year funding outlook.

Johnson said Aurora maintains about 1,400 centerline miles of roadway across roughly 65 square miles and serves a population of about 400,000. He explained that pavement condition is measured by a standard pavement condition index (PCI) that ranges from 0 (poor) to 100 (new). The city adopted a council goal to maintain the network at about a 73 PCI. After several years of focused maintenance work the city’s network PCI climbed from 69 in early 2022 to about 72 at the time of the presentation.

Johnson reviewed common maintenance techniques and the relative costs and life-cycle benefits: crack seal and surface treatments (slurry, chip seal) provide high coverage at low cost; mill-and-overlay provides a substantial improvement in ride quality and is required periodically; full reconstruction — digging out and rebuilding pavement and base — is the most expensive option. He said an in-place mill-and-overlay can raise a pavement section to a PCI of 95 or above, while deferred maintenance can force a full reconstruction that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per lane mile.

Johnson described program history and recent financing changes. After a downturn in the mid-2010s, the city used certificates of participation (COPs) in 2023 to address deferred maintenance. The city subsequently consolidated maintenance funding into a Transportation Maintenance Fund (TMF) to support ongoing concrete repair, contract street maintenance and in-house maintenance work. Total budgeted maintenance programs described for the current year amounted to just under $31.5 million, Johnson said.

Council member Krista Lawson asked whether planned maintenance accounts for increased travel from new development. Johnson said development review includes robust road-building standards and interdepartmental coordination to avoid redundant work; the city coordinates timing of maintenance with utility relocations and private development to minimize repeated cuts and rework.

Johnson said the city will perform a roadway assessment in the year to inform the next five-year plan and that the city aims to reach a steady-state maintenance program once PCI goals are achieved. He closed by offering to provide additional detail to committee members on lane-mile cost comparisons and project priorities.