DID EAST O AND EAST N "SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS?" - BENICIA PUBLIC WORKS RESPONDS

Graham,

Thank you for the background info on how are streets are supposed to be maintained and repaired.  It all makes good sense to me. 

Did East O and East N just "slip through the cracks"?  They were bad 8 years ago, we reported them several times, and they didn't received any attention. 

I hope that major repairs will be scheduled for the future, next summer as you state.  In the meantime, don't you think some immediate pothole repairs are justified?  Its pretty bad when motorists have to slow to a walking pace or even stop to avoid the holes.

Its unfortunate that our neighborhood's streets have been allowed to deteriorate to such a bad condition and will now need more extensive and unnecessarily expensive attention.  Nevertheless, on behalf of our neighborhood, thank you for looking into the needed repairs. 

Ross

On 10/4/2016 1:49 PM, Graham Wadsworth wrote:

Mr. Sagun,

Benicia does not have the worst streets in Solano County. In the 2015 Pavement Management Plan, the average PCI in Benicia is 58, the average PCI in Suisun City is 55, and the average PCI in Vallejo is 49. Ten years ago, the PCI in Benicia was 70, so there has been a downward trend with a reduction in gas tax revenue.

The first criteria used to determine if a street will be repaved usually starts with the PCI. A street with a PCI less than 25 then the street should be reconstructed, which is 10 to 30 times more expensive than doing preventive maintenance, such as slurry seals and microsurfacing. It is less expensive to keep a street in good condition, than let it deteriorate to the point that it must be reconstructed. This is why you see streets in better condition being repaved. Another reason is that the City receives state funding to pave arterial and collector streets, but not for residential streets. Other criteria include the volume of traffic on the street, the best treatment for the street, and grouping streets with the same treatment in a geographical area for one contractor to resurface, which reduces costs.

In terms of emergency repairs, those are made when there are potholes that need to be filled, which are usually filled in the fall and spring. Potholes are a symptom of a street network that has too much deferred maintenance. I am attaching a file with a list of streets with a PCI less than 20 in case you want to make comparisons. Please note that the street segments are a few blocks long and not uniformly deteriorated, so there may be parts of the segment that are in worse condition than other parts.

I had a meeting today to discuss the available funding for the next street resurfacing project. As I stated in my 9/19 email, City staff will be preparing the paving program this month for construction during the summer of 2017 and East O will be evaluated and considered for inclusion.

Graham