Burlington, VT - February 15, 2018 12:25

RELEASE: City Expands Paving Program to Include Repaving of North Avenue, Pine Street, and Others

City Expands Paving Program to Include Repaving of North Avenue, Pine Street, and Other Major Arterials
Public Works reallocating existing resources to address unanticipated damage to major roadways from this winter’s unusual freeze-thaw cycle
 

Burlington, VT – The Department of Public Works (DPW) is expanding its 2018 paving list to repair road damage to North Avenue, Pine Street, Colchester Avenue and other severely weather-degraded major roadways. DPW has issued an addendum to its paving contract to address segments of impacted arteries and will begin the work as soon as weather conditions allow the asphalt plants to reopen (typically in April or early May). The Sustainable Infrastructure Bond, approved by voters in November 2016, doubled DPW’s annual paving contract. By reallocating existing resources, DPW will expand beyond this already increased scope of paving work for the 2018 construction season and repave well more than double the amount of roadway that the City typically fixes in a year. 
 “The current state of our major arterials is unacceptable, and I appreciate how quickly our Public Works Department has answered my call to come up with a plan to improve these roads as much as possible, as quickly as possible, and to restore them fully as soon as the weather warms,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “This new plan will do all of that, and without increased burden on the taxpayers.”  

Citywide Improvement: New North End to the South End

Public Works has maintenance teams on daily patrols throughout the city to improve what can be fixed now, working on regular work hours or over the weekends whenever warmer weather presents an opportunity. 
Problematic road conditions from this winter’s severe cold and rapid thaw are region-wide, with clear impacts throughout Burlington. The near-term plan to address these impacts includes:
  • North Ave: Segments with substantial deterioration will be added to the paving schedule this spring, and other segments will now receive extensive linear patching during the construction season.
  • Plattsburg Ave: A key section will be paved this spring as part of the original paving schedule.
  • Pine St: In coordination with previously planned subsurface drinking water infrastructure upgrades, key sections of Pine Street will now also be repaved, and others will receive extensive linear patching.
  • Colchester Ave: In addition to already planned paving of the stretch of Colchester Ave as it reaches Winooski, additional segments will be repaved or extensively patched to improve road conditions.
  • Other proposed segments receiving extensive patching include parts of Maple Street (of which a large section was already on the original list) and North Street.
 
Interim Steps, Careful Planning, and Construction

Public Works continues to fill potholes with cold patch as conditions allow to provide a viable mid-winter solution to improved roads. Crews have also milled short delaminated (shallower, but longer or wider than a traditional pothole) segments of North Avenue and Pine Street to provide a smoother lane of travel. Engineering and maintenance teams are monitoring if the milled sections will survive additional freeze-thaw cycles or accelerate the creation of potholes by thinning the paved road surface. Additionally, test pits have been dug to determine the thickness of these paved sections and inform the proactive approach to paving these roads this spring. For impacted roads that are not repaved, resources will be devoted to effectively “hot patch” and improve these roads. Hot patch is a more durable solution short of a full repaving that will be available to address road deterioration as the weather warms and asphalt plants re-open. 
The projected total cost of the annual paving contracts for 2018 to fix the weather-damaged roads will be dependent on bid submissions and Public Works Commission and City Council approval. The overall construction schedule will be dependent on weather and contractor availability. Public Works will be releasing more information on the paving list and schedule as it becomes available. 
“We will fix these arteries,” said Chapin Spencer, Director of Public Works. “Our residents, commuters and visitors rely on these roads for safe travel. As the Mayor has made clear, everyone using our roads deserves better, and we will continue working tirelessly to improve the conditions.” 
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