By Dale Girard
Have you happened to come across markings on your road and wondered what is happening? During budget discussions, Department of Public Works Director Alex Gleason spoke about the city’s current paving needs. At that time, the City Council discussed a three-year paving budget, potentially funded by a bond.
During Director Gleason’s presentation, he explained the DPW currently uses a priority paving plan, which was implemented by our former assistant director. This formula involved many factors, including lead abatement, pavement condition, traffic count, slope and utility projects. The formula created a Paving Condition Index (PCI) and an Overall Condition Index (OCI).
Moving into the 2024 budget, the department and the city manager made the decision to hire an independent consultant to provide a comprehensive paving plan. As a member of the Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission (UVRPC), Claremont requested help with this project. To provide it, UVRPC is partnering with the University of New Hampshire SADES (Statewide Access Data Exchange System) team. They specialize in studying road surfaces, pedestrian infrastructure and drainage systems. The consultants began their work on June 14th.
The study includes all roads, no matter when they were paved or sealed. The consultant is looking for cracks, potholes, ruts, patching, utility cuts and any other visible signs of deterioration. They are collecting data at one-quarter mile intervals. As part of their assessment, the consultants have placed markings in the road which recognize the beginning and end of studied sections. These markings do not signify your road will be paved in this fiscal year.
Based upon the pattern of the deterioration, they will evaluate the condition of the subsurface. This can be age or load related cracking.
Age-related cracking generally begins at the top of the surface and, if routine crack sealing is not completed, the road will deteriorate quicker.
They may note load related cracks, which generally occur in the wheel paths of heavy vehicles. Drainage issues will allow moisture to build up in the subsurface which may cause movement and damage to the underlying material. It is important to understand the subsurface. We do not want to pave when the base is not sufficient and will only provide a very short fix.
The consultant’s plan is to finish this initial study by the end of August. They will meet with the DPW to review their findings. They have requested information on future water and sewer projects. The data will help to prioritize our future paving projects and keep projects on schedule.
The final plan will be presented on a geographical information system (GIS) map. The goal of this report is to have a 5–7-year future paving plan that prioritizes based on current data and practices. The director will use the information to group neighborhood projects together and, as with any plan, there will need to be flexibility based upon issues which cannot be predicted. We anticipate the study to be completed this coming fall.
— Dale Girard is the mayor of Claremont, N.H.
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