Pavement Preservation Work Has Begun in Duluth

In 2012, the City of Duluth adopted a Pavement Preservation and Management Plan to better manage its road system.

This program will emphasize the importance of early intervention through the adoption of proactive maintenance strategies. Simply resurfacing a street anymore is not the most cost efficient or best method for long term preservation of that roadway.

The city must switch the mindset from repairing the worst roads first, which depletes budgets quickly. In addition, a road already in the poor category will cost little more to rehabilitate in a few years (and the method of rehab will not change), but will allow the city to maintain more good and fair streets, affecting more miles of street per dollar.

The goal is to not let roads fall below a certain PCI (Pavement Condition Index) rating.  To accomplish this, good roads must be kept good and not be allowed to fall into the fair or poor category, where more money would be needed to get them back to good.

It is a proven fact that every dollar spent now on pavement preservation can save up to six dollars in the future. In addition to the long-term cost savings, pavement preservation and management strategies pay dividends by reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with both vehicle use and roadway construction. 

This program is currently funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and a Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG). 

C.W. Matthews Contracting Company has been selected for the 2014 Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG). This grant is for milling, patching, and resurfacing of roadways. It is funded by the motor fuel tax with a 30-percent match from your SPLOST dollars.

You may go to this link for a list of roadways that will receive repair. Roadways were chosen based on results from the Pavement Evaluation Report. Traffic delays may be expected during this time. The public will be notified by posted notices prior to work beginning on any street.

You may go to this YouTube video to view a message from Mayor Nancy Harris about this project.

— Submitted by City of Duluth