Roads & Infrastructure

One of my main campaign promises was to address the deplorable condition of our roads!  Since taking office, I made a permanent Roads Committee who are in charge of overseeing a multi-year road improvement program.  I have involved the public in the decision making process and with your help have made significant headway in improving our road network.

With your assistance, we have funded and completed, in only 18 months:

• 34,917 feet of total road reconstruction
• 17,582 feet of mill and repave of roads
• 132,083 feet of chip seal on local roads

The Work Has Only Begun!
Rest assured, the work does not stop there.  We have already begun bidding and design on the following roads including but not limited to:

• Second Hill Road - From Old Ridge Road to Reservoir Road (Construction starting Summer 2019)
• Erickson Road (Construction starting Summer 2019)
• Overlook Drive (Construction starting Summer 2019)
• Mist Hill (Construction starting Summer 2019)
• Pickett District Road (Construction starting Summer 2019)
• Long Mountain Road IV (Construction starting Summer 2020)
• Fordyce Road (Construction starting Summer 2019)
• Geiger Road (Construction starting Summer 2020)
• McNulty Drive (Construction starting Summer 2020)
• Cascade Road (Working on Expediting Schedule)

Long Term Investment in Capital Equipment
We have also made long term capital investment in our equipment to ensure that preventative maintenance and repairs are now properly performed.  Remember $1 in preventative maintenance will save $5 in future reconstruction costs!

To that end, we have invested in a Cimline DuraPatcher Pothole Filling truck which is currently being manufactured for us.  This truck will allow our labor to be more efficiently utilized as well as provide a pothole patch that actually stays in place.  The operator will perform the work from within the safety of the cab of the truck.  He will first blow out the pothole with a high pressure, high CFM air hose off the boom to clean the hole which allows for the patch to properly bond to the existing asphalt.  Next, a heated liquid asphalt emulsion tack coat will be sprayed in the hole and along the edges of the hole to provide a proper bond.  After that, a mixture of heated asphalt emulsion and 3/8" crushed, washed stone will be blown in to the hole to form the patch.  Finally, a layer of clean stone will be blown on top allowing the patch to be driven over immediately.

We are also investing in equipment such as a hot air lance which will allow us to properly clean cracks before sealing, utilizing a 150 CFM compressor with a propane heated lance.  This will clean the crack of all debris, remove any moisture and heat the edges of the asphalt to ensure the best bond possible of the crack seal.  This will allow the crack seal to last longer allowing us to focus on other items that need attention.

Other investments include items such as a guiderail mower, that allows us to quickly and efficiently maintain the vegetation around our guiderail.  We also are investing in a brush cutter that will allow us to cut brush up to 4" in diameter to cut back the edge of the roads.

Investing in Technology
We are now utilizing technology to better serve the taxpayer.  This winter has brought about unprecedented icing throughout town.  Our DPW staff has been logging the issues as they arise in our cutting edge asset management software, Cartegraph, so that we may then design fixes for each area.  Stay tuned for an exciting new launch of our software, that will empower you to report issues in town such as potholes, park repairs, sidewalk issues, etc. from the comfort of your Town.  We will then allow you to track the progress of your request of service as it goes through the process internally.  Not only can you track your request but you will also be able to see each and every request made by the taxpayers in town.  I promised transparency and accountability when elected, and I will continue to find ways to deliver on this process.

Investing in Analytics
By properly using our asset management software, Cartegraph, we are now reviewing productivity and ensuring that our manpower is being focused on a priority based system.  This is allowing us to be proactive rather than reactive.  It also allows us to determine the best ways to repair items or deice a road by tracking historical performance of our assets.

Investment in Road Reconstruction
Prior to determining what type of road work would be done and where this year, each mile of road in Town was inspected with StreetScan (learn more at http://streetscan.com).  This van utilizes multiple sensors to determine the pavement condition of each segment of road in Town.  From this, our engineering department was able to determine that several roads had structurally failed and were in need of replacement using dull depth reclamation.  Full-depth reclamation utilizes an asphalt reclaimer which pulverizes the existing asphalt in place and mixes it with the sub-base below.  This forms a new, stronger, homogenous sub-base that new pavement is placed on.  However, prior to paving the sub-base is fine graded and properly compacted.  Then a “binder course” of asphalt will be placed and compacted followed by a “wearing course.” 

Road Reclamation and Mill and Pave Roads Completed Include:

Long Mountain Road From North Valley Road to Hine Road Approximately 19,900 feet in length, this road was long overdue for complete reconstruction.  Thanks to local contractor M & O Construction, we were able to replace and add a significant amount of drainage as well as address many areas that used to ice in the winter.  The road was also completely reclaimed, with unsuitable base material replaced and repaved.  This road has over 70 homes along it which will see an immediate improvement in their commute.  Stay tuned for an update on finishing Long Mountain Road.

Sega Drive The Complete Road Approximately 1,954 feet in length, this road was was completely reconstructed from the bottom up.  Thanks to local contractor J. Iapaluccio, Inc., we were able to replace and add a significant amount of drainage.  The road was also completely reclaimed, with unsuitable base material replaced and repaved, allowing for a road that will last for decades.  This road has over 15 homes along it who will see their taxpayer dollars at work in their front yard along with likely increasing their property values!

Blue Bonnet Knolls The Complete Road Approximately 1,320 feet in length, this road was was completely reconstructed from the bottom up.  Thanks to local contractor J. Iapaluccio, Inc., we were able to replace and add a significant amount of drainage.  The road was also completely reclaimed, with unsuitable base material replaced and repaved, allowing for a road that will last for decades.  This road has over 16 homes along it who will see their taxpayer dollars at work in their front yard along with likely increasing their property values!

Roadside Court The Complete Road Approximately 634 feet in length, this road was was completely reconstructed from the bottom up.  Thanks to local contractor J. Iapaluccio, Inc., we were able to replace and add a significant amount of drainage, deal with the lack of slope halfway up, as well as the wetlands that used to weep out on to the road from the uphill side.  The road was also completely reclaimed, with unsuitable base material replaced and repaved, allowing for a road that will last for decades.

Stephanie Drive The Complete Road Approximately 3,010 feet in length, this road was was completely reconstructed from the bottom up.  Thanks to local contractor J. Iapaluccio, Inc., we were able to replace and add a significant amount of drainage.  The road was also completely reclaimed, with unsuitable base material replaced and repaved, allowing for a road that will last for decades.  This road has over 29 homes along it who will see their taxpayer dollars at work in their front yard along with likely increasing their property values!

Great Brook Road The Complete Road Approximately 2,112 feet in length, this road was was completely reconstructed from the bottom up.  Thanks to local contractor J. Iapaluccio, Inc., we were able to replace and add a significant amount of drainage.  The road was also completely reclaimed, with unsuitable base material replaced and repaved, allowing for a road that will last for decades.  This road has over 25 homes along it who will see their taxpayer dollars at work in their front yard along with likely increasing their property values!

Young's Field Road From Bridge Street to Patriot's Way Approximately 1,500 feet in length, this road was was completely reconstructed from the bottom up.  Drainage improvements were made to this road along with regrading to allow for proper pitch of the road.  This road will improve the commute for hundreds and hundreds of taxpayers who use it daily!

Railroad Street The Complete Road Approximately 1,636 feet in length, this road was was milled and repaved.  Catch basin tops were replaced and adjustments were made as necessary.  This road will improve the commute for over a thousand taxpayers who use it daily!

Littlefield Road From Route 109 to Ridge Road Approximately 4,800 feet in length, this road was was milled and repaved.  Catch basin tops were replaced and adjustments were made as necessary.  This road will improve the commute for hundreds of taxpayers who use it daily!

Town Farm Road From Hine Hill Road to Cascade Road Approximately 1,932 feet in length, this road was was milled and repaved.  Catch basin tops were replaced and adjustments were made as necessary along with the addition of drainage.  Sight line improvements were also made by regarding the shoulders.  This road will improve the commute for hundreds of taxpayers who use it daily!  Stay tuned for an announcement on Cascade Road improvements we are working on!

Carmen Hill Road #1 Over 2,200 feet in length, this road was was milled and repaved.  Catch basin tops were replaced and adjustments were made as necessary.  This road will improve the commute for hundreds of taxpayers who use it daily!

Investment in Preventative Maintenance
We also had a significant investment in chip sealing roads.  Chip sealing is a preventative maintenance measure which cost effectively allows us to greatly delay the need to reconstruct your road in the future.  For instance, it costs approximately $950,000 per mile to perform a full road reconstruction but less than $30,000 per mile to perform a chip seal. 

What is chip seal?
Chip seal consists of a layer of liquid asphalt emulsion via spray truck.  Immediately after spraying of the liquid asphalt emulsion, a layer of small stone chips is spread on top.  The chips are then embedded in to liquid asphalt by a rubber-tired roller.  The chip seal then “cures” over several days as the water evaporates from the liquid asphalt emulsion.  Once the chip seal is cured we then come by with our street sweeper and remove the loose chips.  

What benefits does chip seal provide?
Chip sealing a road provides many benefits including:

• Keeps water from penetrating the road and causing cracking due to freeze/thaw cycles.
• Greatly reduces the need for future crack sealing.
• Provides a highly-skid resistant surface.
• Seals the pavement, minimizing the effects of aging and oxidation due to the sun.

Roads that were chip sealed in the last year include:

All told, over 25.1 miles were chip sealed.

As you can see, we have carefully considered each road in Town to ensure that your tax dollars are spent in the most efficient way possible.  When traveling through Town, please be cautious as we have almost 30 miles of road in progress that are being repaired or reconstructed.