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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF STREET MAINTENANCE?
- Preserves streets in good condition
It costs less to maintain roads in good condition, than it does to reconstruct roads in bad condition.
SOME STREETS LOOK FINE. WHY DO YOU NEED TO DO ANYTHING TO THEM?
Streets may look okay, but actually be at the onset of distress. As soon as streets are constructed, they immediately begin to deteriorate. This is evidenced by the fading of the rich black color to the brown and then gray. The next step of deterioration is minor cracking which widen and deepen over time. In the beginning the deterioration process is slow and accelerates near the end of pavement service life. And like your car, if you don't provide preventative maintenance or let the maintenance go too long, then you will be facing major costs for repairs or replacement.
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WHAT IS THE ISSUE?
Over the last 30 years or so, Street Department funding has not increased enough to cover increasing costs to properly maintain the City’s growing street system. Street maintenance has been deferred to the point that 50% of our City Streets are considered to be in “Fair to Good” condition and 50% are considered to be in “Poor” condition. In 2007, City Council made improving our streets one of their priority goals. In 2010, City Council appointed a Citizens Committee to study the problem and make recommendations on funding a Street Plan for maintenance and reconstruction needs. The Committee made its final recommendations in 2012.
At City Council direction, City staff has developed a funding mechanism and a Street Preventive Maintenance Program (SPMP) to address maintenance of good City streets (not reconstruction). The Street Maintenance Fee will raise $15 million dollars per year in addition to the $10 million we currently have
 YOUR STREET SYSTEM
The City of Corpus Christi’s Street Network consists of Arterial Streets such as Staples and Everhart, Collector Streets such as Aquarius and Acushnet, and Residential Streets which are our neighborhood streets. The total system is approximately 1,204 miles and consists of:
WHAT IS STREET PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE?
Preventative Maintenance is a planned strategy of cost effective treatments to an existing roadway system that preserves the system, retards future deterioration, and maintains or improves the functional condition of the system. Preventive street maintenance extends service life of structurally sound pavements, and is typically applied to pavements in good condition having significant remaining service life. Examples of preventive treatments include: SEALING COATING, ASPHALT OVERLAYS, and CRACK SEALING.
|  |  STREET PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM (SPMP)
Two main types of preventive street maintenance will take place under the STREET PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM (SPMP) ‐ seal coating and asphalt overlay.
City streets are inspected and assessed using a Micro–PAVER Pavement Management System. Twenty pavement distresses (their type, severity, and quantity) are used to determine a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for each section of a street. The PCI is like a grade, 0 to 100, 100 being the best. The PCI is used as a planning tool for street work. Streets with PCI in the range of 0 to 55 are considered Poor and are candidates for reconstruction. Streets with a PCI in the range 56 to 100 are considered to be in Fair to Good condition and are candidates for Preventative Maintenance.
The process of selecting streets to work on in the SPMP involves assessment of the overall street condition which includes: pavement condition, curb & gutter, drainage, ADA (American Disability Act) requirements and underground utilities.
The SPMP is primarily for streets in Good condition and not for streets in Poor condition. Streets in Poor condition will be considered under a different program, primarily because of the extensive reconstructive work needed to be done utilizing a different funding mechanism.
WHAT IS A SEAL COATING?
Seal Coating is a process to provide a “protective coating” to preserve the pavement from elements that lead to failures. The protective coating helps to restore the asphalt binder cement which overtime becomes exhausted and allows the pavement to unravel. The next step of deterioration is minor cracking which can widen and deepen over time. If the cracks go untreated, water seeps into the base and damages the pavement’s load bearing capacity. This is evidence by the formation of rutting, shifting, and alligator cracking. A chip seal is a thin layer of hot asphalt applied to the street surface and then is embedded with small aggregate (rock). The seal coal is expected to rejuvenate and add a wear surface that lasts up to 7 years.
WHAT IS AN ASPHALT OVERLAY?
An asphalt overlay is applying a new layer of hot mix asphalt cement to the street surface, sealing it. Milling is often needed to match pavement grades or to remove distressed pavement. The typical thin overlays are less than 2 inches. Overlays are expected to preserve the life of street pavement for at least 10 years.
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