Consider Recommendation to City Council to Temporarily Increase Funding for Pavement Management Program

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider making a recommendation to City Council to temporarily increase Pavement Management Program funding to address the immediate street reconstruction bubble needs. 

Background:
Pavement Management Program Background
The City maintains over 186 miles of bituminous paved City streets and is in the seventh year of its current Pavement Management Program (PMP). The primary goal of the PMP is to perform the proper pavement management (maintenance/rehabilitation) operation at the proper time to maximize the life of the pavement as cost-effectively as possible.
 
When streets are constructed or reconstructed using today’s design standards, and when pavement management operations are proactively performed on those streets on a regular basis afterwards, at least 60-years of useful life is anticipated from new and reconstructed bituminous pavement sections.
 
Current bituminous pavement management operations include;
 

• Cracksealing – Protects existing pavement by preventing stormwater runoff from seeping through cracks in the pavement and joints between the pavement and concrete curb and gutter and utility castings, minimizing future damage due to wet subgrade soils, especially during freeze-thaw cycles. The City annually crackseals about 25 miles of bituminous pavement on its public street system.

 

• Overlays – Protects existing pavement similar to cracksealing, while also increasing the structural or load carrying capacity of the pavement. The City typically overlays up to 4 miles of pavement on its public street system annually.

 

• Reconstructs – Pavement reconstruction projects remove and replace severely damaged pavement with new pavement sections. Reconstruction projects may also include removal and replacement of damaged concrete curb and gutter on urban sections, or re-grading ditches and re-shouldering on rural sections. The City annually reclaims/reconstructs up to 2 miles of pavement on its public street system.

 
The City of Ramsey’s current proactive pavement management schedule for improved public streets is generally as follows;
 

• Cracksealing - 3 years following construction, overlays or reconstruction, then every 7 years after.

 

• Overlays - 20 years after construction, overlays or reconstruction.

 

• Reconstructs - 60 years after construction or reconstruction.

 
The pavement management schedule for each street segment is adjusted based on actual pavement conditions. City staff annually reviews and rates the pavement condition of all public streets using the Pavement and Surface Evaluation Rating (PASER) system. PASER ratings range from 1 to 10, with 1 being a failed pavement section in total disrepair, and 10 being a new pavement section.
 
Figure 1 shows 2021 PASER ratings for all City streets.
 
Staff typically recommends reconstructing pavement sections with PASER ratings between 1 and 4. Overlays are typically recommended for pavement sections with PASER ratings of 5 and 6. Cracksealing is typically recommend for pavement sections with PASER ratings between 7 and 10.
 
By proactively performing these pavement management operations on a scheduled basis, the useful life of the pavement is maximized as cost-effectively as possible. If proactive maintenance operations are not applied, pavement sections will generally require reconstruction every 30 years, which adds considerable cost to a pavement management program.
 
Street Reconstruction Bubble
Between 1975 and 1985 approximately 40-percent of all City streets were constructed.  At the time these streets were constructed their anticipated useful design life was 40-years, after which reconstruction would be required.  These streets have all now either reached, or are nearing, the end of their useful lives.  This means approximately 40-percent of City streets need to be reconstructed now or in the immediate future.  And while it has generally been known for a decade or more that this “street reconstruction bubble” was approaching, it has become even more apparent this year that current Pavement Management Program funding levels need to be increased to acceptably maintain the condition of City streets.
 
Pavement Management Program Funding Needs
Staff has received a steady increase in calls in recent years from businesses and residents complaining about the poor condition of City streets and asking when the City plans to patch, overlay or reconstruct the streets serving their businesses and homes.  Based on the increasing number of complaints received each year, on the fact that 40-percent of public streets are generally at the age that they need to be reconstructed, and considering that Public Works Staff struggles to adequately maintain the pavement on City streets, Staff is seeking a recommendation from the Public Works Committee to the City Council on how many more streets to reconstruct and/or overlay each year, over and above the amount of Pavement Management Program (PMP) projects identified in the 2022 – 2031 CIP.
 
Figure 2 shows all public streets proposed to be reconstructed between 2022 and 2031 as identified within the current 10-year CIP, which totals 25.38 miles. The figure also shows streets that currently qualify for reconstruction since they have PASER ratings of 4 or less, but are not yet identified in the CIP.  These streets total 18.50 miles.  Of these streets less than one mile are non-residential streets, and less than one-quarter mile are Municipal State Aid System routes, qualifying for use of MSA funds.
 
Figure 3 shows all public streets proposed to receive mill and overlay improvements between 2022 and 2031 as identified within the CIP, which totals 34.84 miles.
 
Figures 4 through 7 shows which City streets have PASER ratings of 5, 6, 7 and 8, which are the PASER ratings typically targeted for identifying future PMP projects within the 10-year CIP.  PASER ratings for bituminous pavements decrease over time which allows Staff to determine specific street segments for future PMP projects within the 10-year CIP.   
 
Expanding the PMP program to account for the increased immediate needs due to the current street reconstruction bubble the City is facing will require a significant increase in annual PMP funding.  Currently, approximately $2,750,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are available for additional street reconstruction and/or overlay projects in 2023.  In the future, such funding may not be readily available so Staff is seeking direction from the Public Works Committee on how much additional funding should be allocated annually for PMP projects, if any.
 
Traditional funding sources for PMP projects include the general levy, bonds, special assessments, Municipal State Aid (MSA) funds, and/or franchise fees.  Finance Director Diana Lund will be in attendance to address questions Committee members might have on these funding sources including availability, reliability, interest rates, fund balances, etc.    

Staff anticipates up to 60 minutes will be needed to present and discuss this case. 

Observations:
“Light” Street Reconstruction Projects
An option the Committee may wish to consider would be to temporarily complete more PMP projects as “light” street reconstruction projects.  This would involve reconstructing streets by reclaiming the existing bituminous pavement plus an inch or two of underlying aggregate base, leaving all or most of the reclaim pavement on site as a thicker aggregate base section, then paving a single 2-inch lift of bituminous pavement over the compacted reclaim material.  This would generally provide a pavement section similar or slightly better than the pavement sections constructed up to the early 2000’s, which generally met a 5-ton pavement design strength, compared to today’s pavement sections constructed with 4-inches of aggregate base and 3½-inches of bituminous pavement that generally meet a 7-ton design strength.
 
Light street reconstruction projects are estimated to cost about 75-percent of a standard street reconstruction project utilizing pavement reclamation, which involves reclaiming the existing pavement plus an inch or two of underlying aggregate base, hauling about half the reclaim material off site, then paving two lifts of bituminous pavement totaling 3½-inches on top of the remaining compacted reclaim material.  This design generally meets a 7-ton pavement design strength.
 
Utilizing light street reconstruction projects would allow the City to reconstruct about 25-percent more streets at the same cost as a standard street reconstruction project. However, the anticipated design life of these streets would be between 25 and 40 years instead of 60 years with a standard pavement reclamation project.  In addition, pavement design strength would be reduced which may cause issues during spring load restrictions requiring increased enforcement actions by Ramsey PD and other Staff.
 
Staff would support this option if the Committee feels the benefit of completing 25-percent more street reconstruction projects annually will outweigh the costs and other potential local impacts due to achieving a design life that is two-thirds or less than that of a standard street reconstruction project, and due to a lesser pavement design strength.   
 
Advancing Street Reconstructions to Overlay Improvements
Staff also explored whether streets identified as street reconstruction projects in the later years of the 10-year CIP, which may have PASER ratings of 5, 6 or higher, may be suitable for pavement overlay improvements in earlier years to extend the life of the pavement enough to allow it to be reconstructed after the “street reconstruction bubble” passes to smooth out the next street reconstruction bubble.
 
Attached are four figures showing streets with PASER ratings between 5 and 8, all of which could potentially be identified within the 10-year CIP as street reconstruction projects closer to the end of the 10-year period based on projected pavement decay curves.    
 
Staff reviewed the 2022 – 2031 CIP to identify streets with PASER ratings between 5 and 8 that might meet this qualification.  Staff only found one street segment that might meet these criteria and provide enough benefit to outweigh the additional cost due to overlaying a pavement section that is past the point of achieving 15 or more years of pavement life following the overlay improvements.  Staff therefore does not believe there is enough value associated with this option to pursue it further.    
 
Alternatives:
Alternative #1 – Motion recommending City Council approval to temporarily increase Pavement Management Program funding to address immediate street reconstruction bubble needs in an annual amount of $____________.  
 
Alternative #2 – Motion of other. 
 

To be determined based on discussions. 
 

Staff recommends temporarily increasing annual PMP funding to mitigate immediate street reconstruction bubble needs and minimize annual maintenance costs in as few years as practical.
 
It is important to consider that the longer the bubble continues, the greater the impacts related to street maintenance including equipment and material costs, professional services, and potentially staffing.  On the flip side, the higher the annual PMP funding, the greater the impacts related to engineering costs including engineering staff and potentially professional services.  These costs must therefore be considered as well.  More information on these costs will be provided during the meeting.      

Motion recommending City Council approval to temporarily increase Pavement Management Program funding to address immediate street reconstruction bubble needs in an annual amount of $____________.