Northville voters to decide on road millage
Aug. 6, 2018 PLYMOUTH EAGLE.
Plymouth Michigan News
When Northville voters cast their ballot in the Nov. 6 election, they’ll be asked to decide on a 0.98 millage for the issuance of a $3,050,000 Street Improvement Bond to fund street repairs and upgrades for the next 10 years.
The millage is needed, officials said, the amount of funds budgeted annually for road repair and replacement, approximately $550,000 per year, is not sufficient to keep pace with the rate at which roads are deteriorating.
At present, 46.5 percent of Northville roads have a “poor” rating … which means that the city is repairing roads closer to the “replacement” condition. Engineers have cautioned that this is an expensive way to maintain roads and also results in people driving on roads that are more likely to develop potholes and crumbling conditions.
City officials have a priority plan for road repair and replacement determined by practicality and traffic flow.
The process of evaluation and analysis starts with rating roads using the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) system, an industry- standard assessment in which trained analysts drive each segment of road (from intersection to intersection) and score it from one (the worst) to 10 (a new road). Roads rated 7 or 8 may require routine maintenance, such as crack sealing or minor patching. Roads rated 4-6 are considered to be in “fair” condition and may need preventive maintenance, such as an overlay or joint repairs. Roads rated less than 4 are candidates for extensive repairs or reconstruction.
An assessment of city streets revealed in a 2016-17 report by the engineering firm Spalding DeDecker reported that 46.5 percent were in “poor” condition and 20.8 percent were in “fair” condition. Engineers estimate at the end of 10 years, the bond program would increase the number of streets rated as “good” from 32.7 percent to 63.1 percent and streets rated as “poor” would decrease from 46.5 percent to 34.1 percent.
Plymouth Voice.
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