A mild winter caused noticeably less damage to city streets this year, but Athens officials plan to spend about $400,000 repaving them — the most the city has spent for paving since 2007.
Athens officials are evaluating about 190 lane-miles of roads, 40 miles of sidewalk and an unspecified amount of curbs for repaving this summer.
The large amount of city funds — $400,000 — set aside for roads this year tops last year’s budget by 26 percent and the 2010 budget by 83 percent, said Athens City Councilman Elahu Gosney, D-at large, in an email.
About $325,000 will be allocated for paving and street repairs, $25,000 for sealing street cracks and $50,000 for in-house costs, according to documents from the Department of Engineering and Public Works.
Street funds are collected as tax revenue — half from the city’s income tax and half from a local “wheel tax,” which is paid during vehicle registration, Gosney said in the email.
City officials will be accepting bids for the street repaving in the next few weeks.
The issue of which streets receive a revamp has not yet been decided, but they will be picked based on how much the poor condition of the road affects citizens in the area.
“The biggest factors are the age and condition of the road as well as the number of citizens (who) are served,” Gosney said.
If left to deteriorate, poor roads can cost the city more than just initial improvement expenses — citizens can make claims for damages due to adverse road conditions.
The 2010–11 winter led to three claims — each for about $200 — but the past winter, which was unseasonably mild, didn’t produce any claims, said Ron Lucas, a city street maintenance specialist.
“That’s a direct attribute to the type of winter we had,” Lucas said.
Lucas explained that roads in Athens are now on a repavement cycle, which improves the efficiency of the system.
“We have come a long way with getting our roads into a cycle, looking five years down the road and being more proactive with the things we are trying to do,” Lucas said.
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