Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Streets Maintenance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City outlines road-preservation plan and reconstruction costs for aging streets
Summary
Bountiful Streets Director Charles Benson told Mayor Kendalyn Harris the city maintains about 162 miles of centerline road, plans roughly 14 miles of preservation this year using slurry seals, and prefers rehabilitation over costly reconstruction that can run about $500,000 per half-mile.
Mayor Kendalyn Harris spoke with Streets Department Director Charles Benson about how Bountiful maintains its streets and the tradeoffs between preservation, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Bountiful City has about 162 miles of centerline road, and the streets department inspects each road annually to decide whether it needs preservation, rehabilitation or full reconstruction, Benson said.
Keeping moisture out of pavement is the city’s top priority. “That’s kind of the number one enemy of a road. It’ll make it soft and do potholes and start alligatoring when that moisture gets down into the road and into the base of the material,” said Charles Benson, Streets Department Director. To limit water infiltration, Benson said the city plans about 14 miles of preservation work this year using slurry seals. The department uses two slurry types: a type 2 (a fine sand mixture with oils and binders) applied at less than a quarter-inch thickness that typically lasts seven to 10 years, and a heavier type 3 for higher-traffic or steeper streets applied at about three-eighths of an inch and designed to provide better winter traction.
When preservation is not sufficient, the crew performs rehabilitation. Benson said the city uses a four-foot road mill to plane uneven surfaces, then repaves with about 1½ to 2 inches of asphalt depending on the road profile. The streets crew also raises manholes and valves as they pave, using a gray ring set into the asphalt so the road is finished and ready for traffic when crews leave.
Full reconstruction is substantially more expensive. “We’re looking half a mile costs about half a [million], 500,000 to do,” Benson said, which is why the department prioritizes preservation and coordinates with utilities before a reconstruction project so the road will not be dug up again soon after being rebuilt.
Benson described rules the city requires for utility cuts: crews must square cuts and make the repaired area one foot wider than the original excavation on each side to allow proper compaction. In winter, when asphalt plants are closed, crews use cold mix as a temporary repair and replace it with hot mix when plants reopen.
Bountiful performs much of its paving work in-house. “We’re one of the few cities that still do their own overlay, and it’s a huge cost savings benefit for the residents of the town,” Benson said, noting the city uses its truck fleet (originally purchased for snow plowing) and new equipment, including a road mill, paving machine and roller, to keep crews busy year-round and control costs.
Benson also urged residents to reduce practices that accelerate pavement deterioration, including frequent overwatering at the street edge and vehicle fluid leaks. “Those sprinklers are washing out the oils and the binders,” he said. Oil or gasoline spills, he added, “actually eat the asphalt up and…break it down,” allowing moisture to enter and form potholes.
The conversation closed with Mayor Kendalyn Harris thanking Benson and his crews for maintaining the city’s roadway investment. Benson asked residents to call the street department to report potholes or problems so the crew can schedule repairs.
