Consultants say Ennis streets rate ‘good’ overall but reconstruction backlog requires targeted funding

Consultants from Roadway Asset Services told the Ennis City Commission on Aug. 17 that the city’s pavement-condition study found an average pavement condition index (PCI) of about 74 for roughly 153 centerline miles, with about 5.2% of centerline miles in the ‘backlog’ category (poor or worse), meaning those segments likely need reconstruction rather than routine maintenance. Scott Gordon, president of Roadway Asset Services, said the firm used laser crack measurement, high-resolution imagery and a profiler to compute PCI scores consistent with ASTM D6433 standards.

Gordon said the firm recorded imagery every ~15–20 feet, linked measurements to the city’s GIS segmentation, and uploaded the dataset into Cartograph so staff can run scenario analyses. He described the range of treatments—crack sealing and micro-surface preservation up to overlays and full-depth reconstruction—and explained how Cartograph uses per-square-yard unit costs to estimate budgets and optimize where work will buy the most benefit.

The presentation included several budget scenarios. A hypothetical “fix-all” approach that treats every road would cost tens of millions up front (Cartograph’s illustrative estimate: roughly $48 million in near-term treatments, annualized in the presentation to about $8 million per year), then reduce out-year spending. By contrast, the model showed a “do nothing” projection that would drop the city’s overall condition into the low 60s within five years. Gordon said maintaining the current condition would require roughly $5.5 million per year under the deterioration models used.

Commissioners and staff asked practical questions about omitted segments, TxDOT-owned corridors and how traffic volumes are factored into priorities. Gordon said Cartograph permits weighting by functional class (arterial/collector/local) and that traffic counts and local engineering judgment both influence which segments are advanced. Ed Green, the city’s public works director, confirmed the city’s street reconstruction fund is supported primarily by a 0.25% streets sales tax and that the commission historically budgets about $1.0–$1.3 million per year from those revenues.

Gordon recommended a two-step, pragmatic approach: use the dataset and Cartograph scenarios to build a five-year plan, then refine selected candidate projects at the project-design level (including localized geotechnical testing) before committing funds. He also offered to provide annual updates to the database and run new scenarios as projects are completed.

Next steps: commissioners asked staff to make CSV or printable exports of the Cartograph outputs available and to return with specific project scenarios and cost estimates for commission guidance. The commission did not take a formal vote at the workshop.