WELCOME TO SDLTAP TRAINING! County Commissioners Brief 17 Mar ‘11 Fundamentals of Managing Roads by Larry Weiss Central SD LTAP

Managing the Road System Establish Accurate Inventory Breakdown by Surface Types Road Classification & Levels of Service Setting Priorities

Introduction Inventory of existing system: The Local Roads Needs Study conducted in Aug/Sept of ‘08 indicated by it’s results and from LTAP visits that inventory information is limited to non-existent in some cases. This is essential information from which to plan especially for annual budgeting and for making longer term decisions.

Inventory continued County Road System – A. Total miles on system – B. Miles eligible for federal funding participation – C. Miles which are the major truck routes which require a thicker section of gravel surfacing or base course and asphalt.

Inventory continued County Secondary Road System – A. Number of miles – B. Those routes in unorganized townships managed and maintained by the county. – C. Budgeting – surfacing, pipe & structures

Township Road System – A. Organized townships maintain these routes – B. Coordination with the county often enhances efficiency 1. Resources – gravel 2. Operations – maintenance/snow removal Inventory continued

Asphalt Pavement – A. Number of miles – B. Year placed – C. Maintenance operations performed: Crack treating Chip seal Overlay Other Rehab (rut filling, slurry seal, in-place recycle)

Inventory continued Asphalt Surface Treatment (Blotter) – A. Number of miles – B. Year placed Number of courses (chip seals) Thickness/quality of base course (gradation and PI)

Inventory continued Blotters will perform well with adequate base thickness, specified gradation and PI base course. Gravel surfacing does not work as base course due to higher PI and generally smaller stone.

Inventory continued Gravel Surfacing – A. Number of Miles – B. Traffic Volumes – C. Layer Thickness – D. Quality of gravel Gradation PI (Can be judged by amount of corrugation and loose, or unbound gravel, on surface)

Inventory continued Bridges – Number of bridges in county – Condition Note: Accurate inventory and condition rating of all bridges is maintained by the SDDOT. But, local agencies must manage maintenance and request replacement as deemed necessary.

Inventory continued Small Structures (less than 20 ft in length) – Number of structures on county system. – Condition – Maintenance Needs

Inventory continued Culverts (pipe) – Number of culverts in county – Inventory by size (diameter and length) and location – Condition (Annual Inspection is required by law) Note: As defined by SD Codified Law , Townships may petition Counties for replacement of small structures or culverts with opening (or combined openings in same streambed) of 16 square feet or greater.

Inventory continued Please don’t forget to manage culverts and small structures!!

Managing the Road System Record Keeping Understanding Structural Design

Surface Section From LRNS results and LTAP visit information, this is an area which could be improved through record keeping. Some entities have good records, others have none. None: the only method of decision making is looking at the surface, this alone does not provide adequate information from which to make a budget decision.

Thickness – What is in place? 1. Asphalt 2. Blotter/Base course 3. Gravel surfacing If there is no record, cut holes and measure.

Chop Saw

Surface Management Age – Example: If an asphalt mat is 18 years old but there is no record, the repair or maintenance decision may be incorrect due to the deterioration of the asphalt. Condition – Evaluation should be done by the same individual(s) on all routes for continuity using a guide similar to LRNS.

Structural (thickness) Design Considerations This area of our work appears to be misunderstood by many folks.

Performance Contrasts Failure in one year!

Blotter constructed in Hand Co in 1965! Photo taken in 2008

Structural Design Subgrade soil Specification (quality) & thickness of Base Course in the case of Asphalt Roads. Specification Gravel Surfacing in the case of Gravel Roads Strength is not in the surface on Asphalt Roadways.

Structural Design con’t County (volume under 400) – 8 inches base course with blotter* surface. * Stablized gravel if budget requires 4 to 6 inches gravel surfacing depending on level of service. Gravel is most cost effective if traffic volume is under 150 to 175 vehicles per day (SDDOT Surface Selection Criteria Study – 2002)

Structural Design (contd) County Federal Aid (volume ) – inches of base course under blotter or 2-3 inch AC mat County Federal Aid (volume – high trucks) – (ie: Road to Ethanol Plant, large Ag Operations) – inches base course under blotter (temporary surface) or 3-4” AC mat

Strength Of Base Depth of Base weak strong thin thick False strength gain assumption More accurate gain in strength Relationship of Base Depth to Base Strength

Recommendations from Another Source

Projected Surface Life Age (Life of Surface) This does not mean without maintenance, but the useful service life before major reconstruction or rehabilitation must be done.

Projected Surface Life Asphalt – Mat: years with crack treating every years and chip seal every years – Blotter: years with chip seal every years

Projected Surface Life Gravel Surfacing: – Regravel on a schedule to maintain desired thickness/quality – Try to schedule reshape at 20 to 25 years

Projected Surface Life Specific thickness will vary within a classification depending on volume & loading of traffic. The thickness’s shown previously indicate why it is important to have an inventory for decision making for maintenance and budgeting.

Impact of Geotextiles An option that should be considered when building or repairing over weak subgrade. Can save money when used correctly to avoid deep digouts.

Geosynthetic Families Geotextiles

Geosynthetics in Roadways Road construction is the most common use of geosynthetics – Separation – Filtration & drainage – Reinforcement Typically geotextiles and geogrids

Separation Separation maintains the design thickness of the respective layers Maintains load carrying capability of road Allows for somewhat reduced base thickness in cases with soft subgrade

Geosynthetic Functions Separation

Migration of Fines

SD Examples There have been many – – Day County – Brookings County – City of Sioux Falls – Town of Toronto – City of Miller – Rosholt Township – Town of Brandt – City of Platte  And many others.

Rd Has Never Failed Since Repair in 2001 Picture taken last week –

Danger of Making Uninformed Decision Examples: City street/road to elevator – Existing asphalt blotter surface in poor condition with unknown base course thickness (actual base thickness is 6”) Improvement decision without inventory – Overlay with 2” asphalt mat Potential premature failure wasting the money for 2” asphalt

Making an Informed Decision Improvement decision with inventory – Mill existing blotter and some base Add 7-8 inches of quality base course and reblotter Or- Mill existing blotter and some base Add 6 inches of quality base course Place a 2-3 inches asphalt mat

Danger of Making an Uninformed Decision County road with 700 ADT – Existing blotter surface in poor condition with unknown base course thickness and quality (actual base is 5 inches with gravel surfacing spec – 10 PI) Improvement decision without inventory – – Minor patching and reblotter – Potential premature failure due to inadequate thickness & poor quality base.

Making an Informed Decision Improvement decision with inventory – Mill blotter and portion of base – Add inches of quality base and reblotter or – – Pave* if budget allows – * Based on budget, may need to stabalize gravel as a temporary surface

Planning/Budgeting Project Needs Estimate Costs Communicate: Needs vs Available Funds

Examples of Records, Work Plans and Maps Shared by LTAP Friends

20 years of records on major maintenance and rehab on one road section

A work plan for major maintenance and construction submitted to commission

Bridges

It Can be Done With a Computer

Planning/Budgeting Projected Needs 1.Use Inventory, Needs, Age – It is easier to be convinced of the need/proposed improvement, and cost if you have a sound basis. 2.Projection for the future – what development may occur? Communicate with the planners, are there plans forthcoming? 3.Project costs accordingly.

Planning/Budgeting Estimating Costs Use annual bid unit costs, contractor’s estimates, SDDOT average bid prices or your own unit costs. Estimate costs based on needs defined by condition assessment of the road system

Planning/Budgeting - Communicate Needs will likely exceed budget and capacity to complete work. Mutually set priorities / discuss impact of deferred work. Communicate, communicate, communicate!!

Important For Communication Know what your sources and amounts of revenue are for roads. Have a plan for using that revenue. Be able to answer questions about how you are spending public money. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”, but be willing to get the answer and provide information.

Sources of Revenue Real Estate Tax Sales Tax (cities) Federal Aid (counties and class 1 cities) Vehicle license/registration fees Special Funds (Industrial Park Access, Agribusiness Access, Community Access, etc) Negotiated agreements with private business Others

How Is Revenue Shared? Example of a real estate tax breakdown for 2008: – County33.9% (but, how much for roads?) – School60.3% – Twp 4. 3% – Rural Fire 1.3% – Water Dist. 0.2% Total100%

Tax Revenue (con’t) Tax Revenue per $1,000 tax paid using percentages from previous slide – Paid to County$339 (but only approx $129 goes to roads) – Paid to School$603 – Twp $ 43 – Fire$ 13 – Water Dist.$ 2

What About Vehicle License/Registration Fees? ( Prior to 2011 Bill) SD Non-Commercial License Fees: – Vehicle <4,000# less than 5 yrs old$42.00* – Vehicle <4,000# over 5 yrs old$29.40 – Vehicle between 4 and 6,000# less than 5 yrs old (pickup trk)$55.00* – Vehicle between 4 and 6,000# over 5 yrs old (pickup trk)$38.50* How much road work does this pay for??? * $135 - $6.00/T = 22 Ton (less than 200’ – 24’ wide)

Challenges Tax freeze! Rapidly escalating prices. Increasing size of agricultural equipment and trucks. Increased size of commercial vehicles. Increased yields of grain (more product moved from field to bin to market) Access demanded for economic development.

Some Recent Bids Seal Oil (MC-3000) bid at $567 per ton or $2.38 per gallon. Last year’s bid was $1.78. Hot-mixed asphalt bid at $60 per ton at plant. Blade maintenance at $89 per hr. (Contractor’s bid to a township with a 200hp machine) Surface gravel bid (to a twp in eastern SD) at $8.25 per cu yd with haul not to exceed 15 miles. This converts to $6.11 per ton.

Estimated Cost of Work Using Bid Prices on Previous Slide Placing one inch of gravel on a 24 ft mile will cost $4, (no blading or compaction) Placing one inch of hot-mixed asphalt on a 24 ft mile will cost $53,856 assuming only $8 additional cost for hauling and laydown. A chip seal will cost approximately $13,253 using MC-3000 at.3 gal per sq yd plus cover aggregate, equip and labor. Blading gravel roads will cost approx $44.50 per two miles total production per hour blading time.

The Cost of Doing Business Recent problem for township when feedlot operator began hauling manure

Estimated Cost for Repair Replace 200 cu yds of gravel$ Two hours blade maintenance$ Total$ Total real estate tax revenue to the township in 2009 will be approx $180 due to TIF (tax increment financing) on the recently built feedlot.

Maintenance Attempt to obtain or retain design section information In the current economic situation we may not be able to get the ultimate surface section desired, however it is important to know what that section is so that a decision is not made that will contribute to premature failure.

Rehabilitation Consider age in planning process Don’t overlay a badly cracked 20 year old mat Better to mill, add base to strengthen if needed and place a new mat. Don’t place a 2” overlay on a road surface without inventory information, desired design considerations and knowing age.

Summary of Sound Management Have the information to make sound decisions and use your precious dollars wisely! » Make those decisions based on proven engineering recommendations - » not political expediency!