Hutchinson has 74.9 miles of paved roads. Reconstructing all of them would cost $200 million, or $15,000 per capita. It costs far less to stay on top of pavement management and extend the lives of roads.
That’s the thinking city staff use when updating the city’s pavement condition index, which rates the condition of city roads. Industry standard calls for a PCI of 65-75 on the city’s roads, a goal the city has met the past several years.
A 1996 survey revealed a PCI of 72. It was up to 77 in 2004, but dipped to 69 and 66 in 2007 and 2011, respectively. When speaking to the City Council Nov. 23, John Olson, the city’s Public Works manager, attributed the drop to economic constraints and a reduction to the work force at the time.
In 2014, the PCI was 71, followed by 76 in 2017, 76 in 2020, and 75 in 2021.
“That’s really the goal ... to keep that number steady and stable,” Olson said.
Staff use the PCI data to help make three budgets for road work: one that would keep the PCI the same, one that would drop it by 10%, and another that would increase it by 10%. Doing so helps identify which work is most important and most cost-effective over a 20-year period, and narrows down work for a five-year plan.
Olson discussed the most recent plan with the Hutchinson City Council, and highlighted an average annual expense of $3.9 million over the next five years, and a budgeted shortfall of $527,616 on reconstruction and reclamation projects. Projects are funded with General Obligation Improvement bonds ($1.9 million), assessments ($976,000) and municipal state aid ($500,000).
“This is one of the first reports we’ve seen in some time that has had a pretty significant shortfall,” Olson said. “We are even now working to review construction specifications to consider the use of new techniques and new materials in hopes of recovering some of that.”
One plan is to bid early and seek more competitive bids. The city is also looking at assessments, and the rate it charges.
“It’s been a long time,” Olson said.
The biggest issue when it comes to current costs is the price of materials and their availability. Oil prices for bituminous overlay and fuel costs also contribute, along with labor shortages.
Pavement management, with an average annual cost of $423,000, also has a shortfall of about $23,000 annually.
“We’ll see where that number looks like over the next couple of years to see if that’s going to be a long-term trend,” Olson said.
The city has identified three main areas as having marginal or poor road conditions: the area near the Recreation Center, the downtown area, and Clifton Heights east of Michigan Street. All three areas are included in the five-year plan. The Recreation Center area is part of the ongoing south central storm sewer projects.
