The Pavement Management Program
What is pavement management?
The Pavement Management Program is characterized by maximizing available funding to extend the life of a street network by keeping “good” roads in “good” condition. The city has divided this into two distinct efforts.
- Pavement Preservation - Preserving the actual driving surface (i.e. asphalt) in an acceptable condition over an extended period of time. This typically involves construction work that avoids digging into the rock below the pavement, but instead restores or improves the existing surface layer of the pavement.
- Street Maintenance - Maintaining everything else that makes the traffic and street system work. This includes snow plowing, pothole patching, fixing traffic signs and signals, street sweeping, sidewalk repair, bridge repair, or vegetation control.
2023 Local Access Preservation Projects
Hillview Estates Neighborhood: Improvements to road surfacing, stormwater infrastructure and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations are scheduled to start on May 15 and continue through June.
- Phase 1 work (map) starts May 15 impacts 31st Avenue from Collins to Clinton; between 31st and Skyview on Virginia, Woodlawn, Morrow and McDonald; 28th Avenue from 29th to Guthrie; and McDonald between 29th and 28th.
- Phase 2 work (map) is scheduled for May 30-June 16.
Summerfield East Neighborhood: Preserve local access streets north of Wellesley Avenue in the vicinity of Trentwood Elementary School and East Valley Middle School. New pavement on portions of Best Road, Calvin Road, Olympic Avenue, Bellevue Court, Crown Avenue, Lucille Road, Burns Road, Wabash Court, Summerfield Court and Broad Avenue. The project includes asphalt patches, grind and overlay, and replacement of noncompliant Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sidewalk access ramps. Schedule coming soon.
Construction Process
- Construction crews mobilize in the area and use heavy
equipment to remove the existing asphalt.
- Crews will re-grade and compact the existing rock road base
materials to create a consistent surface for improved drainage and a smooth
drive after paving.
- Lastly, roads are re-paved with new asphalt.
What You Need to Know
The road will be closed to through traffic during construction, however residents will have access to their property.
Tips to be prepared:
- Project phases include removing the existing asphalt, re-grading the existing gravel and then paving. Crews recognize this is your neighborhood and resident access will be accommodated. Please be patient.
- Expect delays. Roads often can be driven on during construction but flaggers or pilot cars may need to guide you through the work zone for safety.
- Parking is not permitted on streets during paving operations. Vehicles parked in designated “No Parking” zones will be towed.
- Some driveways will be temporarily blocked during construction. Access is only limited for a short time and never overnight unless prior communication has occurred.
- Please trim your trees/bushes to well behind your curbline and at least 14’ above the ground. If vegetation hasn’t been trimmed in advance, residents may be notified by the city. Please contact the city to discuss concerns
Assessing the condition of paved streets
How do cities assess the condition of a paved street? Engineers use a Pavement Condition Index (PCI). It is a ranking assessment (using a scale of 0=worst and 100=best) on the overall health of a paved street. PCI takes into account several types of road distresses, such as cracking and patching of the asphalt.
View PCI scores for Spokane Valley's Paved Street Network
Funding pavement management
The annual cost for street maintenance and preservation to keep Spokane Valley streets in their current condition is approximately $16 million per year. Since 2011, the city's dedicated funding sources have provided an average of $5 million per year for pavement preservation and $3 million per year on street maintenance, totaling approximately $8 million per year or 50% of the total program cost. These contributions are mostly city funds with some supplemental state/federal grant funds.
There are two main challenges that exist with current funding of the Pavement Management Program.
- First, the city's dedicated sources fund only 50% of the costs needed to keep the streets in their current condition. So while the city streets are in relatively "good" condition today, they will continue to age and fall apart faster than the city can fix them.
- Second, funding sources that have been utilized by the city in the past are not reliable funding sources for the future. In fact, local revenues for the program are declining. To offset declining revenues, the city began an annual transfer of capital reserves in 2019 to offset the unfunded balance needed to fulfill the current program and provide the community with the level of service they have come to expect. This is not expected to be a sustainable practice for funding the city's street maintenance and preservation.
In past years, funds allocated for street repairs and improvements have primarily been designated to arterials, with a much lesser amount directed to repairs to local access streets.
To learn more, view these helpful videos.
History of Funding (video 4)| Powerpoint
Funding Options (video 5) | Powerpoint
Streets Sustainability Committee
The city developed a Streets Sustainability Committee to identify options for long-term sustainability of street maintenance and preservation. The committee presented a final report of its findings to City Council on Nov. 9, 2021. Learn more about committee's scope of work by viewing this helpful Committee Overview video (1) and affiliated Powerpoint.
View past presentations
The city's Streets Sustainability Committee has been meeting monthly since April and the City Council continues to monitor and address pavement preservation needs in Spokane Valley. Some of the more recent presentations to these groups can be accessed below.
| MEETING DATE |
|
MATERIALS PRESENTED |
| Oct. 12, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information |
| Sept. 14, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information |
| Aug. 31, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information |
| July 20, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information |
| June 8, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information
|
| May 11, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information |
| April 13, 2021 |
|
Streets Sustainability Committee Meeting Information |
| February 2, 2021 |
|
Council: Streets Sustainability Committee Video & Documents |
| January 19, 2021 |
|
Council: Streets Sustainability Committee Video & Documents |
October 6, 2020
|
|
Council: Pavement Preservation Surface Treatments Video & Documents
|
| May 26, 2020 |
|
Council: Pavement Management Program Update Video & Documents
|
October 1, 2019
|
|
Council: Pavement Preservation Video & Documents
|
April 2, 2019
|
|
Council: Pavement Preservation Video & Documents
|
| |
|
|
Resources
NCE Evaluation of the Pavement Management Program (2019)
Pavement Preservation & Recycling Alliance - Treatment Resource Center
StreetScan Storymap for Pavement Management Program
View Magazine (city publication) with Pavement Management article
More information
Adam Jackson
Pavement Management Program Coordinator, City of Spokane Valley
StreetSolutions@spokanevalley.org
509.720.5024