Town Council members received an update on progress toward development of a 10-year Pavement Management Program for the Town of Fountain Hills.

The information presented at the Dec. 3 council session built on information first brought to the council in September by Infrastructure Management Services (IMS), a consultant hired by the town to help develop the plan and provide data on pavement condition on the streets in the community.

The level of service for pavement management is based on a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) defined by a grading system using letter grades beginning with A as the highest and downward to conditions in dire need of repair.

Zac Thomason, client services director for Infrastructure Management Services, made a presentation to the council explaining the grading scale for pavement condition and the nuances and challenges associated with maintaining a desired classification.

According to Thomason, an assessment done by IMS in 2017 determined that Fountain Hills has an overall PCI rating of 63, which is good (low B range).

The study reflects a backlog of streets in dire need of attention at 5.5 percent, well within the target of 12 percent or less for backlogs.

However, Thomason explained that while these numbers look good, the current funding the town has available for pavement management could result in this picture changing rapidly.

Thomason said the town’s budget of $2.5 million per year for pavement management would result in an overall PCI of 58 and a backlog of 42 percent within 10 years.

At council direction, staff will continue to work on a plan that projects an overall average PCI of 70 (B), with arterial streets at 73; collector streets at 65 or better (C) and local streets at 60 (C-). The backlog of streets in poor condition should be at 12 percent in 10 years.

According to Thomason the annual cost of achieving the proposed goals is $5.5 million; $3 million more than currently budgeted.

Town Manager Grady Miller said staff will further evaluate these recommendations and provide funding options for council to consider at a later date.

The Town of Fountain Hills owns 162.6 center lane miles of roadway, equaling 3.6 million square yards of pavement. That makes the streets the town’s largest single asset with a value of $1.2 million per mile, or $198 million total. This does include the value of land, bridges, sidewalks and other street related infrastructure.

The town is still evaluating additional capital projects that will enhance the street system. Public Works Director Justin Weldy specifically cited potential lane reduction on streets such as Kingstree and Palomino boulevards where a center median could be installed along with sidewalks and landscaping. The ultimate reduction in lane width would reduce maintenance costs and offer the benefit of traffic calming in residential neighborhoods. The costs of such work have not been evaluated.