Citizens question Gainesville street slate
Sep. 23—The phones are ringing at Gainesville City Hall over citizens' complaints about the recently announced slate of street work.
The Register ran a story on Sept. 16 listing sections of several eastside streets that will be milled and repaved over the next several months. Apparently, City Manager Barry Sullivan has been fielding complaints about that slate, specifically from people wanting to know why other streets, some worse for wear, aren't getting done as well.
"Yesterday, I received a call from an upset lady stating that the section of street she lives on was being repaired, while the worst portion of the street was not being repaired," Sullivan told the Register Thursday. She asked, "Why is the city repairing her section of street, when the rest of the street was in worse condition?"
The lady in question lives on Cypress Street, according to Sullivan.
"The city is milling and overlaying Cypress from Rosedale to the end of the cul-de-sac that is on the west side of Rosedale. Cypress from Rosedale to the east is in the worst condition," Sullivan said. "In fact, the engineering study for roads showed that the west side of Cypress has a road index score of 49 (poor condition), while the east side of Cypress has a road index score of 39 (very poor).
The west side of Cypress can get by with mill and overlay to extend its life by 15 years. However, "the base on the east side of Cypress is in such bad condition, the mill and overlay would not work. The maintenance would not last many years because there is not enough base or current asphalt to hold the new asphalt in place," Sullivan said.
The city is just starting a $10.7 million, five-year plan to repair or replace streets around the city. 258,000 square yards(around the size of 40 football fields) Those streets that can get by with milling and repaving for now will be paid for out of cash on hand in the city's coffers, while the worse streets required borrowing and more planning and construction time, Sullivan explained.
"Sealing represents 76% of the street maintenance, but only 12% of the maintenance funds. Mill and overlay equates to 19% of the maintenance square footage, but 30% of the cost," Sullivan said. "While rebuilding streets accounts for 5% of square footage of street maintenance, but 58% of the overall maintenance funds."
The FY 2022-FY 2026 Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan can be found by clicking the Transparency link on the city's homepage www.gainesville.tx.us.
