City Commits $1.1 Million for Preservation Treatment on 26 Roads

Beginning from Tuesday, the city of Starkville is set to start its rigorous pavement preservation project. This is a significant step forward in maintaining the urban infrastructure and providing better transport facilities for its citizens. With approximately $1.1 million being dedicated to this purpose, the project aims at extending the lifespan of already well-maintained city roads by up to 10 years.

Focused Approach Toward a Durable Urban Transport

The city’s engineer shared in an email that the preservation project will commence this Tuesday and is expected to be completed by Sept. 6. While traffic lanes may close for up to an hour after work is complete, it was mentioned that the robust preservation work can extend the life of the roads by a decade.

The rationale behind the initiative is to catch streets earlier in time, making them last longer.

A Comprehensive Maintenance Improvement Plan

The roads were selected based on the city’s Maintenance Improvement Plan, formulated in 2022. The systematic plan ranks requirements of roads between 1-10, considering their current condition, recommended treatments, and cost-effectiveness. About two-thirds of the total improvement plan’s budget, approximately $3.5 million, is dedicated to traditional asphalt overlay. However, the remaining $1.1 million is committed to road preservation featuring unique treatments like single microsurfacing, double microsurfacing, ultra-thin overlay, crack seal, and fog seal.

Budget and Financing

The road preservation project is being financed through bonds serviced by the city sales tax and internet use tax, ensuring that it does not impact anyone’s tax bill.

Techniques for Durable Roads

Microsurfacing is one of the key treatments being used in this initiative, helping extend a road’s life by about eight to ten years. It involves laying a mix of rock, asphalt emulsion, mineral filler and polymer on the asphalt about three-eighths of an inch thick. Microsurfacing requires curing time after it is poured onto the road, and traffic must be halted for about 45 minutes to an hour.

To mitigate traffic congestion, the project contractor will treat one lane of each road at a time. All efforts will be made to provide access to driveways and other property for affected residents throughout the process.

The mayor believes an extra hour of waiting is a minor inconvenience for the considerable value added to the city’s infrastructure. She emphasized the project’s benefits, “This effort is to save costs, extend the life of the road, which in itself is saving costs, and it allows us to have a better product at the end because we have kept the roads from deteriorating by preventing water infiltration.”

The city will provide updated work schedules and locations throughout the project online on their official website. This pioneering project reaffirms Starkville’s commitment towards better living standards and robust infrastructure, demonstrating leadership in urban development strategies.