Mt. Lebanon continues to enhance local street system
The streets of Mt. Lebanon are in better shape than they were a decade ago, according to an analysis of inspections conducted in the spring by Gateway Engineers.
Compared with a 2011 inspection, the overall pavement condition index, a system that grades streets on a scale of 100, increased by four points in 10 years.
The rise is attributable mainly to the municipality’s practice of reconstructing deteriorated roadways as full-depth asphalt, which tends to require less maintenance than streets built of other materials, according to Gateway’s Matt Bagaley.
On Tuesday, he gave a presentation during Mt. Lebanon Commission’s discussion session regarding the municipal pavement infrastructure management program that has been in place since 2004.
Since 2011, mileage for full-asphalt streets has increased from 33.5 to 44.6 and now represents 51% of the network, he said.
As a result, some five miles of concrete street has been replaced, leaving only about two miles. Asphalt-over-concrete road also has decreased by five miles, and asphalt-over-brick remains about the same as 10 years ago.
Bagaley said that Mt. Lebanon rebuilt Roycroft Avenue as the municipality’s first full-asphalt street in 1980.
“It’s required very limited maintenance,” he told commissioners. “It’s really just been mill and overlay every 20 years or so,” this year being the second occasion for the process.
Affecting the overall pavement condition index in a negative manner are brick streets, regarding which the municipal Historic Preservation Board is drafting a policy to help ensure their continued presence.
Of the 9.8 miles of local roads made of brick, about three miles are ranked as “marginal” and two are “failed” in their PCI ratings, Bagaley said.
As far as budgeting, the municipality has been allocating more than $2 million for street reconstruction and another $300,00 to $400,000 for milling and overlay. But those numbers do not include accommodations for brick streets.
Taking a long-term view, Bagaley presented “big-picture numbers” for the cost of replacing the municipality’s 33 existing miles of concrete, asphalt-over-brick and asphalt-over-concrete streets with full asphalt.
“If you want to get those all to full-depth in today’s dollars, you’re at about $79 million,” he said. “If you were to consider every brick street being reconstructed, that’s another $69 million.”
Mindy Ranney, commission president, said that Historic Preservation Board members are “is in the final stages of their recommendations,” and she expects them to be presented publicly during the first quarter of 2022.