Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Public Works outlines PCI-driven paving plan and project priorities for the new transportation penny
Loading...
Summary
Public Works Director Robert Anderson described a PCI-based, district-weighted paving selection process, noted scalability depending on county funding, and listed sidewalk, greenway and streetscape projects the city will seek from the new transportation penny.
Robert Anderson, Public Works director for the City of Columbia, presented the department’s approach to selecting and sequencing paving projects funded by the new transportation penny.
Anderson described a pavement-condition-index (PCI) evaluation used to rate every city street from 0 to 100 and explained the selection method that allocates funding proportionally by district street mileage. Using a notional $10,000,000 funding level, Anderson said the team modeled a $7,500,000 base for selected streets and reserved $2,500,000 for intersecting cross-streets to avoid partial-block patchwork.
"We wanted to pave a percentage of portion of the city owned streets in each district every year," Anderson said, outlining a 25-year program intended to raise average PCI ratings citywide. He estimated $98,000,000 of need for streets with PCI ratings below 60 and described a state buyback program that currently has $12,500,000 available to help accept and fund state streets.
Council and staff discussed coordination with SCDOT and the state funding timeline; Anderson said the county’s first expected revenue draw is April 2027, which will affect available cash flow in the first fiscal year.
Staff also asked the committee to consider additional pedestrian and greenway investments: a list in the packet includes 50 sidewalk requests, bikeway items, and greenway segments. For the upcoming fiscal year staff proposed $10,000,000 for the Vista Greenway segment, $5,000,000 to complete the Assembly Street Streetscape Phase 2, $4,000,000 toward a railroad quiet zone and $25,000,000 to provide the city’s local match for a rail separation grant administered by SCDOT.
Anderson said the paving plan is scalable to smaller or larger funding levels and that staff would refine priority lists annually in collaboration with planning, engineering and county partners. No formal funding approval occurred at the meeting; staff sought council endorsement of the prioritization approach and direction to continue coordination with county and state partners.
