Upper Nazareth Township embarks on five-year road repair plan

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Almost a quarter of Upper Nazareth Township's roads and alleys are in need of major reconstruction, with the remaining in need of resurfacing, according to the engineering firm developing a five-year road maintenance plan.

Engineers have identified about six miles of more than 28 miles of township-owned roads that require major repairs. About roughly 22 miles must be resurfaced, and only a mile and a half is in what Sean Dooley, with Keystone Consulting Engineers, called “pristine condition.”

“We discovered they are losing roads faster than they can keep up with them,” he said. “Most communities in the area are in the same boat, especially those that are primarily residential and do not have intensive commercial activity.”

The township asked Keystone in late November to survey the roads and come back with a five-year maintenance plan, which spans 2012 through 2016. The five-year plan is the first in a series requested by township supervisors to better control municipal spending, said board Vice Chairman Scott Sylvainus.

The short-term plans come on the heels of an 83 percent property tax hike this year.

“I like this plan, it’s excellent,” Sylvainus said. “It’s what we need to do.”

It would cost the township about $13 million to bring all the roads up to par, which is not feasible given the township’s annual $220,000 road and maintenance budget, according to Dooley.

The township’s streets budget includes about $115,000 in state liquid fuels money, and Dooley said the township needs $300,000 more a year just to keep up with basic maintenance.

The township faces the choice of resurfacing roads at about $85,000 per mile or reconstruction at $1.5 million per mile. Keystone’s plan focuses on saving as many roads as possible by re-surfacing streets through 2016, and putting off major reconstruction projects at least three years until additional funding can be found.

For example, Sycamore Street and five other roads near Martin Guitar will be a priority this year, while complete reconstruction of the worst roads — Gun Club and Levis roads — will go on the back burner.

Dooley estimated the township can repair just over a mile of road each year, according to the five-year plan, at current funding levels. Ideally, the township needs to maintain three to four miles a year to fully sustain its infrastructure, he said.

A road like Gun Club Road, which connects two state highways, has become severely deteriorated because it was built on top of old dirt and gravel and gets damaged by traffic and drainage-related issues, Dooley said. To completely reconstruct Gun Club, it would cost the township upwards of $2 million, he said.

Dooley warns against municipalities doing nothing until a road gets out of hand in order to save money now versus later.

“Just because a car is running, doesn’t mean you should stop changing the oil,” Dooley said. “Ideally, we say to do these surface treatments before a single crack is in the pavement. Once you have a crack, the water is getting in there and the pavement will weaken."

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2012/02/engineers_launch_five-year_roa.html