Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Public Works

TO:	David L. Corliss
FROM:	Mark Thiel
CC:	Chuck Soules, Steve Lashley, Diane Stoddard, Cynthia Boecker, Jonathan Douglass, Tom Orzulak
Date:	6/30/2009
RE:	2009 Street Maintenance Mid-Year Update

As we reach the end of June 2009 I wanted to take this opportunity to provide a mid-point update and status of our 2009 Street Maintenance Program.

This year the City’s annual pavement maintenance program was reviewed and approved by the City Commission on January 27, 2009 for a total contracted street maintenance program budget of $4.4 million (see 2009 budget graph). The program included 183 lane miles of various types of maintenance projects, 40 lane miles of microsurfacing, 22 lane miles of mill and overlay, 10 miles of curb and gutter replacement, and 121 lane miles of crack sealing (see proposed 2009 contracted street maintenance map.)

The various program projects included: Crack Sealing Program that bid on March 3, 2009; a Curb and Gutter Replacement Program that bid on March 24, 2009; an Overlay Program Phase 1 that bid on April 7, 2009; the 2008 Microsurfacing Program contract was extended with the 2009 Microsurfacing Program street locations; overlay of W. 9^th Street from Tennessee to Iowa (Sales Tax Program Rehabilitation Project) was bid on June 2, 2009; Phase II Overlay Program bid June 30, 2009, and upcoming KLINK overlay of W. 23^rd Street from Ousdahl Road to Barker Avenue that will bid in July 2009. As a result of the contractor bids being below our engineer’s estimate we have been able to perform some additional unplanned work, i.e. Oread Inn concrete street improvements and 10^th Street, Delaware to Pennsylvania, mill and overlay.

At present we are assessing our project budgets and original funding level to determine additional projects that will extend our 2009 contracted street maintenance program, gaining us additional progress. Some of the potential areas include downtown parking lot, phase III overlay, alleys, and a concrete street rehabilitation project.

The microsurfacing project is 65 percent complete. Our contractor will be back in July to complete the remaining sections of pavement. This year we extended the 2008 contract through an agreement with our contractor locking in the 2008 bid pricing for the 2009 programmed streets. This was a cost savings to the City of Lawrence of $0.60 per square yard or $96,162.00. The microsurfacing maintenance project continues to grow and gain us much needed improvements to our infrastructure at a minimal cost compared to a full blow overlay. The cost comparison for microsurfacing versus overlay is $3.00 versus $14.00. We are able with this maintenance tool to effectively improve our pavement condition while at the same time make efficient use of programmed dollars (see microsurfacing map and photos).

The crack sealing project is 100 percent complete and included 121 lane miles. Crack sealing remains an inexpensive but effective way to extend the life of pavement. By sealing cracks and keeping penetrating moisture from getting into the subgrade we can proactively minimize the potential for future potholes and surface deterioration. Ideally we would like to program our street sections to be cracked sealed every 3 to 5 years. This is probably the most effective protection for our streets at a very minimal cost (see crack seal map and photo).

The concrete curb and gutter replacement project is 75 percent complete. This remains a popular maintenance project. Often the adjacent roadway is still in great shape and not in need of maintenance at the same time of the curb replacement. This is also a cost effective way to perform only required maintenance. Curbs serve as a channel to drain water from our roadways into our storm water system. Damaged curbs often pond water thus presenting a situation where the water will seep into the subgrade and eventually begin to deteriorate the adjacent pavement (see curb and gutter map and photo.)

Phase I mill and overlay is 100 percent complete. This project went very smoothly and was completed in less than 60 days. Phase II mill and overlay bid on June 30^th and will be presented to the City Commission on July 7^th for approval to award. This is a much larger overlay project and key highlighted areas include Naismith Drive from 19^th to 23^rd, Alabama and 21^st Street adjacent to the Lawrence High School, bike shared lanes on Naismith, concrete intersection approach at 23^rd Street, and conversion of traffic loop detection of video detection at the intersection of 19^th and Naismith and 23^rd and Naismith. Scheduled completion of Naismith Drive will be no later than August 14^th; the remaining portion of Phase II shall be completed no later than 75 days after the notice to proceed (see phase 1 and 2 maps and photo.)

Construction of Timberedge Road began in May of 2009 and was part of the 2008 street maintenance program. It was identified as a roadway section that had completely deteriorated and was in sever need of reconstruction. Good pricing for other 2008 maintenance projects allowed us to fund this project. As part of this project we completely rebuilt 800 feet of Timberedge Road. This project was completed in June and resulted in a new 10” concrete street with new curbs. (Timberedge photos attached)

The 2009 KLINK project will bid in July of 2009. It will include milling and overlaying 23^rd Street from Ousdahl to Barker Avenue. Other key items on this project may include the conversion of traffic loop detection to video detection, if additional funding can be identified. There is significant cost savings to the city by upgrading to the video detection at the time of the overlay. This eliminates the cost of the loop detection that can be used toward the video system. Several studies have proven that video detection has several advantages over the loop detection. KLINK is a cost share project between the city and KDOT.

A highlight this year to our street maintenance program is the 9^th Street overlay and traffic safety improvement project from Iowa to Tennessee. This project is the first street maintenance project to include funding from the recently approved infrastructure sales tax initiative. Work on this project includes mill and overlay, curb replacements, and widening of the intersection of 9^th and Avalon to include a turn lane on 9^th Street. This project began June 10, the day after Commission approval and award, and has been progressing ahead of schedule. The first section of 9^th Street from Iowa to Emery, which included the widening at Avalon, was completed two weeks ahead of schedule. The contractor continues to make significant progress and is currently working on Avalon and the section of 9^th Street from Emery to Mississippi. This project is scheduled to be completed mid August 2009. We are currently reviewing with the Traffic Safety Committee and the Bicycle Advisory Committee the possibility of adding bike lanes on portions of 9^th Street. The findings of this study will be presented at a future Commission meeting. (9^th street photos attached)

Public Works is currently evaluating phase II of our street rating program (see pavement condition rating map) which is scheduled to be completed August 2009. We will use that data along with an evaluation of our 2009 project budget balance to determine additional projects for this year’s maintenance program. We are currently looking at several possible areas that will enhance our current maintenance program. We would like to be able to perform a concrete street rehabilitation project – possible street section would include Inverness, Bluffs Drive, West Hills Terrace and West Hills Drive, and Baker Drive. This would add an additional maintenance program to our current program enabling us to work toward proper maintenance and repair of our existing concrete streets before an expensive overlay or total replacement would be needed. Next year Public Works will have completed a five year projected maintenance plan that will greatly increase our effectiveness in programming street sections for upcoming years maintenance. We believe our program is working, and continued support from the City and Commission has given us the ability to make progress. We have also developed a street maintenance pamphlet that has been published and posted on our web site. This pamphlet details our street maintenance program and gives the public a resource to better understand our program. (pamphlet attached)

In summary, we are making significant progress toward improving the roadways in Lawrence. The 2009 program is ahead of the 2008 program in terms of completeness through June. We worked over the winter to move our projects up to be ready to begin the program in early spring of 2009 which has proved to be very effective. By the end of August 2009 we will be 90 percent complete with the 2009 Street Maintenance Program - three months ahead of last year. In addition to the contracted street maintenance program it is note worthy to mention that our in-house Street Division has complemented our contracted program in many ways. They have been out ahead of our contractors performing in-house maintenance to eliminate down time and delays to contractors. They have played a significant role in this year’s coordinated effort to perform street maintenance. The Street Division plays a key role in the day to day maintenance and operation of our roadways.

Please let me know if you have any questions.