HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection II Pavement Management PolicyII. PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT POLICY
Adopted December 7, 2009
Revised May 16, 2011
Revised November 13 , 2012
INTRODUCTION /PURPOS E
The purpose of this policy is to define and outline street maintenance criteria and procedures for the
City of Prior Lake.
The City of Prior Lake, Minnesota has 99 center lane miles of public streets. Streets vary in age and in
quality of condition. The City recognizes that some street conditions can create unreasonable hazards to
motor vehicles and other street users. The C ity of Prior Lake will use this policy to ensure efficient, cost
effective, and organized maintenance of City owned streets throughout the community. This will ensure
better safety for residents, and a prolonged and improved life of Prior Lake streets and infrastructure.
The City will use City employee’s, City owned or rented equipment, and/or private contractors to
provide the maintenance necessary.
This policy supersedes any and all previously written or unwritten policies of the City regarding street
maintenance. The Public Works Department will review this policy periodically and will recommend
amendments as appropriate.
In the event of an emergency or other unanticipated event, deviation from any standards may be
expected.
STREET REPAIR CRITER IA
The City has limited employee and financial resources and cannot reasonably replace/maintain all
roadways needing repair within the same year the street is identified as needing replacement or repair.
Street repair and replacement is expensive. According ly, the City and its Public Works Department must
exercise both discretion and professional judgment when determining whether a street is in need of
repair and what type of repair will be most beneficial and cost effective. The criteria in determining
suc h, is listed but not limited to the following:
1. Location of the street
2. Location with respect to other streets in need of repair
3. Amount of traffic the street carries
4. City resources for repair
5. Existence of holes deeper than 2 inches
6. Existence of cracks wider than 1.5 inches
The City of Prior Lake utilizes a Pavement Management Program to rate street conditions. Condition
ratings are established for each street using an Overall Condition Index (OCI) which illustrates the level
of distress and overall street condition on a 0 (worst) to 100 (best) scale. An example of low (left),
medium (middle), and high (right) severity cracks is shown below.
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http://www.tib.wa.gov/tibinfo/publications/GeneralInfo/Pavement%20Conditions%20Manual%20for%20TIB.pdf
Transportati on Improvement Board
MAINTENANCE AND INSP ECTION SCHEDULES
The City is divided into three sections with one of the three being inspected every year from May to
October. The inspections are used to reevaluate each street and make adjustments to its pavem ent
condition rating. Upon completion of the street inspections, the Public Works Supervisor and the
Engineering Staff establish a maintenance and replacement schedule. This schedule is subject to
modification by the Director of Public Works un der the fo llowing circumstances
1. Budgetary limitations
2. Time limitations
3. Resource limitations or changes
4. Priority changes
5. Emergency situations
6. Poor weather conditions
MAINTENANCE PROCEDUR ES
The City of Prior Lake uses six main forms of street maintenance as a preventative repair and one
method of full replacement. The preventative methods are cost effective procedures that prolong the
life of a street and postpone a full street reconstructio n. Each form of maintenance requires its own
equipment and materials, and each provides its own benefit to the street.
Crackseal
In most instances cracks are routed to provide an acceptable form to allow filling of the crack with a hot
applied rubberiz ed material to prevent water infiltration into the road base. This repair may take place
one to two years in advance of other scheduled maintenance activities due to budgetary limitations.
There are no OCI increases following this maintenance activity. R easoning is due to the fact that the
entire street surface area is not being protected.
Seal Coat
This is a surface application of an asphalt emulsion followed by the placement of small graded
aggregate. The improvement is non - structural, but it is a wea r - resistant coating that protects the
pavement from the effects of oxidation, moisture, and water penetration. Typically, this form of
maintenance extends the life of the pavement 8 - 10 years. Crack sealing practice is highly recommended
prior to seal coat ing to prevent surface water from entering the base layer where it begins its damage.
Thermal cracks develop because the asphalt expands and contracts from temperature fluctuations as
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seasons change. The OCI increase following this activity is determined by re - rating the segment. This
maintenance procedure will take place every 5 - 7 years. OCI Range: 65 - 90
Mill and Overlay
Milling consists of grinding the old bituminous surface down at the outside edges to establish a uniform
cross - section of pavement prior to installing new bituminous. M & O is only used on streets with
existing concrete curb and gutter. An overlay is an asphalt structural improvement of 1.5 to 2.5 inches,
which extends the life of the existing pavement typically by about 15 - 20 years. Prior to an overlay being
installed, damaged areas must be repaired to prevent
existing cracks, holes, or weak areas from d eflecting up
through the new surface over time. OCI increases to 95
following this maintenance activity. OCI Range: 45 - 65
Full Depth Reclamation
This process is utilized when there are pavement distresses
related from a road sub - base, utility services, o r trench
settlement issue. The repaired area is ground from the
surface area through to the gravel base material, thus
allowing maintenance staff to recycle and reuse the material
after making sub - base corrections. Maintenance areas are
determined by Main tenance Supervisor . OCI Range: 35 - 45
Reconstruction
In most cases the reconstruction process is predetermined
by a street with an OCI in the range of 0 - 35 , or increased
utility issues which are in need of repair. This is when curb
and pavement is removed, and subgrade soil corrections and
utilities are upgraded. New concrete curb and bituminous
surface is installed. A full reconstruction is a structural c hange. The life of the new pavement is typically
30 - 40 years (with continued maintenance). Below ground utility’s age, stresses and condition weigh
into the overall determination of a reconstruction project. Reconstruction of Prior Lake streets began in
1994. OCI increases to 100 following the reconstruction activity.
Patch and Repair
This activity involves the repair of the typical “pothole” or other similar small isolated section of
structural failure. This may include the milling, grinding, or remov al and repair of the street section.
These methods will create a bed to better hold the new pavement layer and will allow for drainage flow
to be maintained. If the pavement is cracked or damaged full depth or the aggregate base has failed,
the deteriorat ed area will need to be removed and replaced. Maintenance areas are determined by
Streets Supervisor
Note: Patch and Repair will be limited on streets within one year of a planned reconstruction.
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GRAVEL/UNIMPROVED RO ADS
The City of Prior Lake generally maintains its 2.63 miles of gravel roads by performing routine
maintenance to maintain a crowned, smooth driving surface. Surface gravel is added by City staff as
needed either by “Spot Graveling” or placing fresh gravel on the entire section. One application of
Magnesium Chloride may be applied per year in efforts to control dust.
PRIORITIES
Following the completion of the street inspections, the Public Works Super visor will determine which
streets are in need of repair fi rst. Many factors are considered when determining priority streets.
Considerations are listed but are not limited to the following:
1. High volume
2. High speed
3. Streets that serve hospitals, schools, and nursing homes
4. Commercial areas
RIGHT - OF - WAY/BOULEVARD
County Roads
City m aintenance s taff or subcontractors conduct mowing in County boulevards with - in the corporate
limits of the City of Prior Lake.
City Collector Streets
City maintenance s taff or subcontractors conduct mowing in City collector streets on an as - needed
basis.
Gravel/Ditches
City m aintenance s taff or subcontractors will conduct mowing of these areas twice per year.
Out lots/Ponds
City m aintenance s taff or subcontractors wil l conduct mowing of these areas only if required to
minimize noxious weeds or for maintenance access purposes.
RESPONSE TO COMPLAIN TS OR ACCIDENTS
Residents of the City of Prior Lake typically report any complaints or accidents that occur on City streets
to the Department of Public Works. The City has provided a link on the Prior Lake website
(www.cityofpriorlake.com) that will direct concerned resi dents to an appropriate City employee
according to the type of concern or complaint. All complaints and accidents will be documented by the
employee that receives them. In a timely manner, the area of concern will be inspected and
documented for determina tion of whether and when to repair. Repairs will be made with safety,
budget, personnel and environmental conditions in mind.
DOCUMENTATION
All maintenance that occurs on a City street during the year is documented during the months of May to
September. The information is then supplied to the pavement management database manager. This
pavement condition documentation provides the City with a means of organizing future repairs and
determining priority of repair over other streets through the pavement ma nagement program.
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SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES
E m ployee safety is a high priority. While hazards cannot be completely avoided, warning devices will be
employed in such a fashion to reduce hazards to an acceptable level as determined by the MUTCM and
maintenance supervisor . If the supervisor deems the conditions unacceptable from an employee safety
perspective, he/she may postpone the project until conditions are considered acceptable.
TRAINING OF POLICY
A copy of the Street Maintenance Policy will be dist ributed to the employees in the City’s Engineering
Department, the Public Works Department, and the Parks Department. Each of these departments will
be responsible for conducting a training session with their staff to ensure employees are familiar with
th e policy. The City of Prior Lake also uses outside resources to conduct training for their employees.
COMMUNICATION OF POL ICY
A copy of the policy will be made available on the City’s website (www.cityofpriorlake.com) under the
Public Works, Street Maintenance section. It is the City’s hope that residents of Prior Lake will see the
policy and will use it to report street conditi ons to the Public Works Department.
PRIVATE STREETS
REVIEW OF POLICY
The City of Prior Lake will review and adjust the Street Maintenance Policy yearly. This will ensure the
policy maintains effectiveness as the City grows and develops. As ideas for changes and alterations
come about they are to be documented.
POTHOLE REPAIR POLIC Y
Introduction
The City of Prior Lake, Minnesota finds that it is in the best interest of the residents for the City to do the
maintenance of its City streets. An important part of street maintenance is the repair of potholes. The
City will repair potholes in a safe and cost effective manner, keeping in mind safety, budget, personnel
and environmental concerns. The City will use City employees, equipment and/or pr ivate contractors to
provide this service. Pothole repair is part of the City’s overall pavement management program.
Application
This policy applies to City streets. It does not apply to other governmental unit’s roads that go through
the City unless t here is a s pecific agreement between the City and that other governmental unit.
When will the City repair potholes?
The Maintenance Super visor or his/ her designee will decide when to conduct pothole repairs. Repairs
will consist of two elements:
1. Crew R epair
A crew will be assigned an area to inspect. They will repair any potholes it finds in that area.
Each street will be inspected at a minimum of once a year depending on available resources and
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factors such as weather and other street work that needs to be one. The timing for the repairs
will also be based upon those factors
2. Response to complaint or accident
A crew will be sent out to inspect any street when the City receives a complaint or notice of an
accident or damage involving a pothole.
Criter ia for pothole repair
Not every imperfection in a street surface is necessarily considered to be a pothole in need of repair.
The general criteria for repair will be a pothole that is two (2) inches or more deep and over five (5)
inches in diameter. The Maintenance Supervisor or his or her designated employee will have discretion
to decide if a condition is a pothole in need of repair.
How will pothole be repaired?
Potholes will be repaired temporarily during cold weather with a cold asphalt mix or other means.
During cold weather, the repairs will be limited to those determined to be hazardous for motor vehicles.
In warmer weather and when hot mix asphalt is available, potholes will be filled with the hot asphalt mix
or other means for a more permanent repair.
Priorities and schedule for which streets’ potholes will be repaired
The City has classified city streets based on the street function, traffic volume, and importance to the
welfare of the community. The city will repair those streets first that are high volume and high speed
routes that connect major sections of the city and provide access for emergency fire, police, and medical
services.
The second priority streets are those streets providing access to schools and commercial businesses.
The t hird priority streets are low volume residential streets. The fourth priority areas are alleys and city
parking lots.
Weather conditions
Pothole repairs will be conducted only when weather conditions do not limit the ability to perform the
work or when s uch work would not endanger the safety of city employees and equipment. Factors that
may delay repairs are cold temperatures, rain, snow, and ice conditions.
Documentation
Workers will document all street repairs to potholes that are made under this poli cy. Records will not
necessarily identify each individual pothole, but may show the general street location where repairs
were made.
Warning signs and devices
If the city knows of a pothole in a street and it is not able to repair it, it will consider wh ether it should
use warning signs or devices. Factors that will be examined will be the location of the pothole, how
dangerous it is, and whether a warning sign or device would be effective.
Review and modification of policy
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The Maintenance Supervisor shall keep on file all comments and complaints received regarding this
policy. The policy will be reviewed annually. Any review will consider comments and complaints since
the last re view and any other factors affecting the policy or its implementation.
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