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Augusta adopts data-driven pavement plan and approves engineering contract for water main loop
Summary
Commission heard a detailed pavement-management presentation from IMS showing the citywide Pavement Condition Index at about 74 and a $20.61M/year maintenance threshold; commissioners approved contracting with ISM for a Fort Gordon water-main loop and added a semiannual reporting requirement for the pavement program.
An industry consultant presented a citywide pavement-condition report to the Augusta City Commission on Jan. 27 and commissioners followed by approving a related engineering contract for a utility project.
Bridal Motto of IMS, the pavement-services firm hired to survey Augusta's streets, told commissioners the city's network now averages a pavement condition index of about 74, improved from about 52 in 2022, and noted that roughly 4% of centerline miles remain in reconstruction-level backlog. IMS used laser-crack scanning and ASTM-based ratings to generate a PCI for each street; Motto said preventive surface treatments cost far less than reconstruction when applied before critical deterioration. "Maintaining a pavement network in good condition is more cost effective than restoring conditions after deterioration," he said.
Motto showed a five-year funding model that contrasted an unconstrained scenario requiring roughly $280 million over five years with a maintenance threshold the firm estimated at about $20,610,000 per year to hold the current network condition. He said the city currently budgets at a lower level (the "green" line in his charts) and that, if funding remains below the steady-state level, the overall condition will decline.
Commissioners asked for and were granted access to IMS's Inform visualization platform so staff and commissioners can view PCI values by district and by street. Director Malik and staff said accounts will be provided to city email addresses for review.
In related action, commissioners approved contracting with Infrastructure Systems Management (ISM) to provide engineering services on a roughly 7,000-foot water-main loop project that will improve flow and system management near Fort Gordon. Director Bynes said the contract covers field survey, in-house design and permitting work for the bid-ready phase, with a typical engineering-fee percentage for pipeline work. The contract vote was unanimous.
As part of the pavement discussion, the commission also amended plans for follow-up reporting. Commissioners agreed to require semiannual updates from engineering on pavement conditions and on the value delivered by the IMS tool; the amendment passed by voice vote and the review frequency was incorporated into the implementation plan.
The commission did not adopt any immediate large new appropriation for capital paving on Jan. 27; staff said the survey and the ISM work will inform upcoming budget and prioritization decisions.
