Palm Bay public works reports PCI improvement; council tasks staff to build master paving plan

Public Works Director Kevin Brinkley told Palm Bay City Council on April 6 that updated Pavement Condition Index (PCI) data and a new online 'Inform' dashboard show measurable improvements across the city’s road network and provide staff with a tool to prioritize future paving work.

Brinkley said the modern PCI average across the network is 86, compared with a 2017 baseline average of 68. Using the new dashboard, staff can view forward‑facing and downward‑facing imagery, segment‑level distress labeling, and a color‑coded map to spot problem corridors. He reported that roughly 14% of the network now scores at or below the city’s 2017 average, and that the next step is to engage a third‑party vendor to validate the PCI data and produce a master plan to sequence remaining Go Roads work.

“We’ve gotten the PCI back. We’ve now got access to this data where our staff can look at it anytime they have an issue or get a call about a road,” Brinkley said. Staff told council the master‑planning vendor would need roughly three to four months to produce a prioritized, procurement‑ready sequence of projects and that the plan would come back for AI advisory‑board and council review in the fall.

Council members suggested procurement approaches (including competitive bids and design‑build ideas), directed staff to back‑test recently paved segments for premature failures (to assess warranties), and asked whether millings from the city compound could be reused in program work. City attorney and public works staff said work‑method choices affect longevity and warranty claims and that vendor performance would be reviewed where failures appear attributable to defective work.

No vote was required; council gave staff direction to pursue vendor procurement, quality control checks and a report back this fall.