Municipalities continue to face declining roadway infrastructure and limited funds to pay for repairs.
Consider whether or not your current pavement management plan is working well for your community.
Are there areas where you can improve? Do you need help identifying ways in which your community can save on cost while improving the quality and life of your roads?
Ruekert & Mielke (R/M) recently performed a Pavement Management Study & Forecast of the Village of Hartland’s long-term road needs to help them answer these questions, and we think the results are worth sharing.
THE VILLAGE’S PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT HISTORY
1980-2010: the Village of Hartland adhered to a 20-year maintenance cycle with a $12,000 annual crack-sealing budget for its 42-43 miles of road. Every 20 years, whether the road needed it or not, the Village would pulverize the road in accordance with its improvement cycle.
2011-2014: the Village moved to a 24-year maintenance cycle and increased its annual crack-sealing budget to $25,000.
PROCESS
In order to evaluate the Village’s pavement management strategy, R/M used Hartland’s WISLR data to populate the deterioration model of the Village’s roadways. We took extra care to review the data for irregularities and then reviewed those irregularities with the appropriate Village staff in order to revise the data as necessary before plugging in the model. Our team then performed an onsite review of the Village’s roads.
RESULTS
Based on their current crack sealing program, we found that the average road life in the Village was 19-20 years with 2 crack seals in the 3rd and 10th years.
Average Year of Rating - Village Standard
Using the data found in our model, we determined that the most cost-effective maintenance program for the Village would involve adopting a 2-year crack sealing cycle. This extended the general pavement life and improved pavement conditions.
Based on our Pavement Management Study & Forecast, we concluded that the Village could save more than $3.5 million over 24 years, increase their average annual road rating, and add six years to their average road life.
Because of these results, the Village now adheres to a 2-year crack sealing cycle.
LEARN MORE
If you’re interested in learning more about how R/M can help your municipality establish a pavement management program and assist in the preparation of your road ratings, please contact an expert today!
About the Author
Kenneth R. Ward, P.E.
VP/Office Manager
Ken has been with Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) since 1984. He has worked as a primary client contact, project manager, and project engineer and has an extensive background in road design and construction. Ken has been heavily involved in pavement maintenance programs and pavement presentation, and has assisted in the creation of long range project budgets and forecasting.
