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The City of Hillsboro currently has jurisdiction of over 222 miles of roadway. The City reviews and evaluates the condition of all arterial and collector roadways every year and residential streets every three years based on council ward. This information is entered into the pavement management database and calculations ran to determine the pavement condition index (PCI). Utilizing the PCI, current budget, and other factors a list of projects to crack seal, slurry seal, micro-surfacing, replace asphalt (digouts) and overlays is developed. Below are the links to past and current projects.
The City of Hillsboro Engineering Department routinely
inspects all the pavements within the City before deciding
what to do and when to do maintenance. The City looks
for common distresses such as loss of aggregates, cracks,
and distortions to help determine what is going on
beneath the pavement as well as the surface of the roadway.
The distresses are recorded in a sophisticated computer
software program that considers the roads condition,
prior maintenance history, and other factors to help
determine the most cost-effective treatment and appropriate
time to apply the treatment. The City also looks at
available funding and other projects in the area that
might influence the selection of the roads. There are
always more roads that need maintenance than money
and as a result, not every roadway that needs maintenance
receives it.
Maintaining a roadway is much like maintaining the
siding on a house. There are things that can be done
to make it last longer, but sometimes it just has to
be replaced. Keeping up with the preventative maintenance
extends the life of the street just as it would siding
on your house and is less expensive in the end. The
City spends a large portion of our budget on preventative
maintenance because we can maintain more miles of roadway
in a better condition for longer with fewer funds.
Most likely, your street is already beyond this preventative
maintenance stage and will require a more extensive
(and more costly) repair. A portion of our annual budget
is set aside for this type of work however, it will
take time for the City to accomplish all of the more
costly repairs that are needed.
- Crack Sealing and Asphalt Replacement: Crack
sealing and asphalt replacement is a preventative maintenance
procedure that involves the sealing of cracks and
and replacing damaged areas of pavement. It is
much like caulking seams and replacing poor sections
in siding at home. It prevents water from getting into
and destroying the asphalt and surface below and helps
extend the life of the asphalt.
- Slurry Seals: Slurry seals are also a preventative
maintenance procedure that involves spreading a thin
layer of asphalt emulsion and fine sands/aggregates
over the surface of the street. Like applying paint
to the side of your house, a slurry seal will fill
in fine cracks and further protect the street from
water damage. It can also improve the ability of your
car to grip the roadway. Slurry seals are generally applied to local residential streets.
- Micro Surfacing: Also a preventative maintenance procedure, micro surfacing is very similar to a slurry seal. Because of changes in the asphalt emulsion it can be applied much thicker than a slurry seal. This allows it to correct problems such as rutting and potholes. Micro surfacing is generally applied to major roadways.
- Asphalt Overlays: An asphalt overlay is
done when preventative maintenance just cannot fix
the defects in the street. The City may have an existing
layer of asphalt removed by grinding or milling the
surface first, or may just apply the new asphalt over
the old asphalt. Either way the street looks brand
new when the work is complete.
Most of the work in the maintenance program requires
good weather. Treatments cannot be applied in rain
and cold weather. Occasionally there are also equipment
problems that delay work. Because of these factors,
the schedule for maintenance is constantly changing
and the City and contractor cannot provide a long term
schedule.
For all types of maintenance, the contractor is required
to place “NO PARKING” signs along the streets
at least 36 hours in advance of work. The signs
will indicate a date or dates for which the parking
prohibition is in affect. Work will be completed on
those dates unless there is a need to change the schedule
due to weather or unforeseen equipment issues. The
contractor is required to repost these signs should
rescheduling be necessary.
In addition to the “NO PARKING” signs,
if your street is receiving a slurry seal, micro surfacing, or an overlay,
the contractor is required to place a door hanger on
your door. This door hanger will provide additional
information and list the dates of planned work.
If your street is receiving an overlay, micro surfacing, crack seals
or asphalt replacements every effort is made to maintain access to your home or business. There are brief periods,
when the asphalt or micro surfacing has just been placed and is extremely
hot or sticky, that the contractor may close access to your home or business.
This is for your benefit as well as the benefit of
the road. Emergency access will be maintained at all
times. Still, we recommend that if you have pressing
appointments, you park your vehicle on a nearby street
where work is not planned to ensure you will be able
to leave when necessary.
If your street is receiving a slurry seal, it will
be necessary to close off access to your home by vehicle
for the day. A slurry seal needs several hours to cure
before vehicle traffic can be placed on it. Access
to the roadways will be shut off at 8 am (parking on
the street will be restricted beginning at 7 am) in
the mornings and the roadways will not be reopened
until they have completely dried. This should be no
later than 5 pm. If you need to leave your residence
that day by vehicle, you will need to park your vehicle
on a nearby street before 8 am. Emergency access will
still be maintained at all times.
The annual street maintenance program is funded through
a mixture of the Transportation Utility Fee, Gas Taxes, and the Oregon Transportation
Improvement Act.
If you have additional questions contact the City
of Hillsboro Engineering Department at 503-681-6146. |