A primer on road management decisions


SPONSORED


Contributed by Troy Tindall, BlueLine Transportation

September 23, 2016

One of the responsibilities of a county commissioner is the administration of the county road system. And, your greatest asset is your road department – which conducts the day to day operations. Their decisions determine the effectiveness and quality of your county road system. As a commissioner your support of the road department is essential when it comes to, not only the budget process, but understanding the basics of how dollars are applied to boost effectiveness.

Construction and Maintenance Basics

A road department committed to providing superior roads may hear comments from a resident such as, “Why are you performing work on that road? There is nothing wrong with it.” If roads are allowed to deteriorate to the point that reconstruction is needed it can bust your budget. Cost-effective maintenance will extend the life cycle of existing road surfaces and recycled processes utilizing existing surface material to bring the road back to new can save thousands.

A properly constructed road with a sound base deteriorates from the top down. Exposure to sun, weather and traffic causes the surface to age and addressing this issue early on can extend the budget. A road rated as “good” can be brought back to “excellent” with an engineered emulsion seal for $4,000 per mile, while a road rated as “fair” can be brought to “excellent” with an engineered bituminous surface treatment for $19,000 per mile.

If during initial construction a road has not been provided a sound base or has deteriorated to poor condition due to lack of maintenance, a recycled processes can be utilized to bring the rating to “excellent” with an engineered rejuvenating emulsion for $50,000 per mile. In contrast a hot mix asphalt overlay will cost $170,000 per mile. These are all factors in deciding when to do maintenance and how to best bring a road into “excellent” condition.

Supporting Your Road Department

Road departments can excel when fully supported by their commissioners. Encouraging continuing education and evaluating “lessons learned” from completed projects will help the staff make good decisions for the road system now and into the future.

As technology advances so does the opportunity for new cost-effective materials and methods that can save your budget. In Oregon bicycle transportation has grown not only as a means of recreation but also for commuting. Specialized materials have been developed to provide added safety by visually delineating bike and/or pedestrian road shoulders through the use of color. Supporting staff in keeping up with the newest products and technologies can keep your department ahead of the curve.

Low Bid – Hidden Costs

Road departments are mandated to request bids for work and materials required from the private sector and the low bid is awarded the contract. Sounds great right? If your contract is thorough and specific on items, charges and expectations you win, if not, different story. An inefficient low bidder that extends the work schedule by a day through no fault of yours can cost the road department $25,000, that’s $100,000 per week. Neglecting to evaluate itemized charges such as demurrage can add up to $60,000 in costs on a single project. Roads are costly to maintain and contracts are a means to control those costs if effectively managed. Encourage staff to scrutinize each item and consider bidder means and methods to determine contract length and understand the final fully loaded cost when all is said and done.

For information on Blue Line Transportation and Road Products, visit www.bluelinetrans.com