“MASH” was a popular television show back in the 70s and 80s and can still be seen daily on reruns. A key scene in most, if not all, shows was the triage where doctors quickly assessed the condition of wounded being brought in by helicopter and ambulance. There was usually the curt comment that “this guy can wait,” or “I’ll take him first.”

Can we translate the triage approach to managing street maintenance in Fountain Hills? That was the topic of discussion for the town council at a session on Tuesday, April 17. The Times publication schedule prevents getting information from that meeting into this edition. However, we were able to see the analysis when it was released last week and can provide some general information. There will be more on the council discussion next week.

Town officials and staff have been discussing an approach that puts a priority on streets in the worst condition, calling it simply “worst is first.” Public Works Director Justin Weldy said he supports that type of maintenance approach, but prefers the triage terminology.

The town has been operating with a zoned approach to maintenance.

Information Management Services (IMS) evaluated the street pavement conditions in Fountain Hills and presented its results to the council. Based on a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 0 to 100, the current system-wide condition is at about 60, which is described as right on the line between good and fair.

While there are a handful of streets, about 5 percent, rated poor and very poor, the bulk of the town’s pavement falls in the marginal to fair range, about 58 percent.

That leaves about 37 percent total that fall into the range of “good,” “very good” and “excellent” condition. The excellent rank for Fountain Hills, with an 85 to 100 PCI score, accounts for about 11 percent of the streets; below a target minimum of 15 percent.

IMS suggests a minimum target PCI for all streets in town at 60, but preferably 65 or greater.

Arterial and collector streets are currently in the best condition, with a PCI of 70 for arterials and 65 for collectors. These include streets like Saguaro, Shea, Glenbrook, El Pueblo and Grande boulevards, which have all been resurfaced or reconstructed in the past three to five years.

Keeping up

The IMS report establishes a “backlog” parameter defined as any street that is past the point of surface-based rehabilitation and requiring a deep rehab project.

According to IMS the current $2 million budget for street maintenance would result in an “unsustainable” 45 percent backlog within 10 years. The report states that even with $3.6 million in annual funding, the backlog is still “unmanageable” at 30 percent.

The projection after 10 years using the proposed $6 million funding, if a primary property tax is approved, has a “manageable” backlog of 10 percent, according to the report.

IMS has provided the town with its recommendations for a pavement management program.

The primary objective should be to maintain a PCI well above 60 with a backlog below 10 percent for the entire roadway system.

“Over the next 10 years the actual budget of $2 million would result in a network PCI of 51, with a backlog of 45 percent,” reads the report.

They also recommend the use of a full array of rehabilitation strategies, reviewed on an annual basis.

“A steady, effective rehabilitation and maintenance on an annual basis saves the town money over deferred maintenance,” the report states.

IMS is recommending the town resurvey the streets every few years to update the condition data, analysis models and rehab program.

Investment

According to the IMS study, Fountain Hills has an investment of roughly $200 million in its transportation facilities. That includes pavement, subgrade/base, drainage, sidewalks and ramps, signs and striping and landscaping, along with miscellaneous items.

That is a value of $1.23 million per mile, making streets the single largest town asset.

There are 163 lane miles of town-owned streets in Fountain Hills. That equates to 3.6 million square yards of pavement – enough to build a road from here to the New Mexico state line.