Patched over patches, cracks and divots are seen on a stretch of Olive Avenue between Redwood Boulevard and Railroad Avenue in Novato, Calif. on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Novato’s roads are slowly deteriorating and a robust financial investment is required to keep them usable, a consultant told the City Council.
The council received a report on the state of the roads at meeting on July 9. The report centered on how much investment would be required in order to maintain road quality and save money on deferred maintenance.
The city has an overall weighted pavement condition index score of 66.
The PCI score rates the condition of the pavement surface on a scale of 100 to 0, with 100 representing a brand-new pavement and 0 representing completely failed pavement. A pavement network with an overall PCI of 66 is considered to be in “fair” condition.
The city’s contribution to street maintenance is about $3 million per year, equivalent to roughly $15 million over five years. In this scenario, the PCI will continue to decrease to 61 within five years, said Nick Nguyen, public works director.
“It takes a proverbial village to manage this pavement network,” he said.
The city’s consultant, Margo Yapp, of the Richmond-based engineering group NCE Consulting, has recommended that the city invest $11 million a year – $55 million over five years – in order to increase the average PCI to 72.
The conditions have deteriorated from a PCI of 72 since 2011.
“That is quite a large chunk for the city the size of Novato,” she said. “What you consider good or not is your decision. It is a policy decision.”
Yapp said about 12% of the city’s roads were considered poor or failed. About 40% are in good shape and about half are in fair shape.
Novato is responsible for maintaining 152.3 centerline miles of pavement, which represents a $277 million investment over time. The road maintenance has been funded by a combination of general fund dollars, state gas tax revenues and federal grants.
The city is considering a sales tax increase as a strategy to manage its deficit and increase funding for road repairs. A proposed ballot measure would increase the city’s 8.5% sales tax by three-quarters of a percent to raise approximately $10.3 million a year.
“That would help to fund that significantly,” Mayor Mark Milberg said.
City Manager Amy Cunningham noted that the current fiscal year utilizes one-time funds in order to pay for road maintenance.
“In reality, we don’t even have the $3 million to invest going forward,” she said.
Pavement deterioration is caused by age, exposure to sunlight and rain, heavy traffic loads from buses and trucks, and utility cuts.
The city requires pavement restoration after utility work is completed. The municipal code discourages excavation of newly resurfaced streets by requiring that restoration of pavement be done to a higher standard than would otherwise be required on a street that is not newly resurfaced, Nguyen said.
There are various strategies for street fixes based on the road’s CPI. A crack fill with micro-surfacing is applied to pavements in “good” condition; a scrub seal with micro-surfacing is used for pavements in “fair” condition; and a mill and hot mix asphalt overlay is applied to pavements in “poor” condition.
Nguyen said the city pursues maintenance by doing one of the fix options each year.
“We create a work plan that has preventative maintenance on one year and more of a restoration the subsequent years,” Nguyen said.
