[ back ]
'Keeping good roads good' Auburn's priority
(by Sue Reid - November 26, 2008)
'Keeping good roads good' Auburn's priority
By SUE REID
In a report involving the repair rating of township roads, Auburn Trustee John Eberly said the plan is to spend the bulk of the funds on "keeping the good roads good. Then we will try to take some of the money and improve the bad roads."
There are more good roads in the township than bad ones, he said. "You don't want a medium road to end up going bad."
Mr. Eberly, who serves as trustee liaison to the road department, recently reviewed the roads along with road foreman Emerick Gordon,
"It's going to be really hard this year to come up with a project list," Mr. Eberly said. With a rating of one to seven, with one being the worst and seven being a new surface with no cracks, there are no ones on the list, and the township doesn't want any of the fours to become threes. "We'd like to take the current fours and turn them into fives," he said.
"We want to do a lot of crack sealing," he said, and remove material from the berms so that water can run off the roads freely.
Mr. Eberly said the township is looking at a total budget of $800,000 for road projects that will begin next year.
"Our road cycling is on an 18- to 19-year basis, and everyone recommends 10 to 12 years," he said. "We're behind the eight ball a little bit, but I think we're making steady progress. We do have to work within our budget."
Mr. Eberly said this is the first time a rating has been put on every road, which, coupled with the existing data, a priority list can be determined.
Primary projects to be considered include Lindsey and Jennifer lanes, which are 14-year-old roads, he said. "We may be able to go in there and do a resurface." Waterford Trail, also 14 years old, would be another candidate for resurfacing, he said, and Crystal Trail needs stabilizing.
"The number of miles that have to be crack sealed is massive," Mr. Eberly said. "If you go through the list, you'd be amazed at the number of roads that need to be crack sealed."
Crack sealing has been done on Creekside and Indian Hills drives and the Meadows subdivision. The Meadows is a "classic example" of the crack-sealing process working well, Mr. Eberly said.
He said that he plans to do a presentation at the next board meeting and asked for fellow trustees' input on the ratings list.
[ back ]
