While the city has done great things with streets like Hitching Post and Second South, a lot more work remains according to Mark Westenskow, director of public works for the city.
Westenskow said the city is wrapping up its sixth-penny tax funded streets projects next year with work on Knotty Pine, Evans and part of Railroad Avenue. The improvement tax was passed in 2012, with the city working on East Teton Boulevard first. Westenskow said the tax allowed the city to address pavement problems with specific streets during the downturn in city funding. The tax has paid for the last five years of streets projects.
Westenskow said that while comments have been made that funding is on the upturn, they’re still not at a level where the city previously funded streets work. Westenskow said the city’s revenues come in at approximately $850,000 a month, which has allowed it to fund basic operational and preventative maintenance, it is still below the approximately $1 million a month needed to fund a street replacement project.
As such, the city is focusing its attention on crack sealing and slurry sealing streets to extend their lifespans.
Westenskow said the city spent $150,000 in crack sealing, a process he describes as the first line of defense in preventative maintenance. Crack sealing closes small cracks, while slurry sealing uses a mixture of asphalt and sand to repair the top layer of asphalt already damaged by the sun and road traffic.
Westenskow said the main goal for both treatments is to prevent water from making its way to the gravel base beneath the street surfaces, which is how potholes form.
He said people have commented about the city focusing on streets that have already been resurfaced recently, but said crack sealing helps protect the city’s investments.
“We can keep a good street from going bad,” he said. “We were able to touch roads ... and extend their life by five years.”
He said preventative maintenance is the cheapest alternative for the city, saying he can accomplish 20 crack sealing projects for the cost of one street replacement project.
Westenskow said he has a list of streets he wants to including both sides of River View Drive, Wilkes, Bridger Drive, Faith Drive and Evans Street, the last two he described as terrible piece roads. Westenskow said those streets will likely be discussed as the Green River City Council prepares for a possible sixth-penny improvement tax ballot initiative in 2020. Westenskow also said he wants to update the city’s 2009 pavement management index to have a more accurate idea of which city streets need work. The index rates streets on a 0-100 scale, with 100 being completely new pavement. He said the plan has helped take the emotion out of deciding which streets should receive work. However, as the plan is nearly a decade old, Westenskow said he might not be aware of some streets in need of repair.
With Flaming Gorge Way, Westenskow said he’s aware of some of the problems developing on the street and has approached the Wyoming Department of Transportation about placing the road on their work schedule. The street is under WYDOT jurisdiction, though it has city utilities running beneath it. Westenskow said he would like to have a comprehensive project set up with WYDOT as it would allow the city to replace aging cast iron water mains with larger, more modern piping as breakages have become more common in the last few years.
“We know about the streets and we do care,” Westenskow said.
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