Recommendations for Priorities

 

The public forums conducted in Humphrey and Columbus in August and September of 2012, although sparsely attended, were made up of a cross section of the community which represented the desired interests and input vital to this program development.  In this regard, the forums were successful.  The interests that were represented included agriculture, transportation, commerce, industry and government.

The input garnered from the discussions was informal and candid. The two most important points that were taken from the discussions were:

  • Importance of quality roads involved in agriculture and the continuance and importance of maintaining a viable  “Farm to Market” network.
  • Importance and necessity of using traffic dynamics i.e. volume, safety, circulation; a primary focus point when developing and prioritizing planned improvements.

In addition to the input received from the public forums, a priority system was developed using other key items and considerations as follows:

  • System Continuity ( Connections to Collectors and Arterials).
  • Road Classifications ( Local, Minor Collectors, Collectors).
  • Average Daily Traffic and Heavy Truck Considerations.
  • Proximity to Population Centers , Business, Industry, Residences and Schools
  • Maintenance Issues including the probability of upgrading or downsizing. 

Considering the aforementioned criteria, a priority list was developed for the paved system roads in Platte County .  The priority list includes:

High priority miles are considered to be important links in the overall county system and include some roads that should be upgraded from low bituminous to high bituminous.  These upgrades will address the needs on roads which demand greater strength based on traffic volumes and heavier loads.  Other roads in the high priority category would remain high bituminous but upgraded using the latest asphalt design technology.  High priority segments are being scheduled on a proposed timeline as capital improvement projects based on a programming model of 8 to 10 years.  

Medium priority miles, for the most part, are classified as either local or minor collectors and have less importance than high priority roads with respect to traffic volumes and connections.  Medium priority roads regardless of pavement type should be expected to remain hard surfaced with maintenance activities consistent with a scheduled program.  Medium priority roads should be reviewed at strategic timelines to determine a purpose and need for upgrading as conditions and circumstances dictate.  

Low priority roads are routes that currently do not make critical connections or do not provide continuity to the overall pavement system.  Generally traffic counts are well below 250 ADT with no logical business or important residential connections.  These roads should be maintained only at a minimal expense with allowable funding until their life expectancy has expired, at which time the decision for returning to an aggregate surface can be made.

CONCLUSIONS

The goal in creating a comprehensive pavement management system is to create a relatively long term model for scheduling necessary work and projects consistent with logical application and funding capability.  A true pavement management system is a living document which should be flexible to meet the needs and expectations of the community.  Based upon these merits it may be demonstrated to the taxpayer that logic and consistency is being applied to a difficult decision process.  Being pro-active instead of re-active should be considered the norm by avoiding the tendency to repair roads on a “worst-first” basis.  Decision making should be consistent with the program needs instead of the immediate wants and desires of special interests.  

In scheduling a priority system, capital projects or expenditures should complement the annual funding available for maintenance activities.  In this way capital projects scheduled on a regular basis would improve the County’s ability to focus maintenance more efficiently and actually increase amount of miles covered in a typical construction season.  Ideally, high priority routes may be scheduled for capital improvement, thus releasing in house forces for maintenance of medium and low priority roads.