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Pavement Management Program
Pavement Preservation Program
If you have any questions or comments about our pavement preservation program, please call Scott Romano in Public Works at (206) 870-6539.
Pavement Preservation Program
If you have any questions or comments about our pavement preservation program, please call Scott Romano in Public Works at (206) 870-6539. view brochure
Gravel Streets
Currently there are approximately 50 gravel/unpaved sections of roadway in the City of Des Moines that are within public right-of-way. During summer months when there isn’t much precipitation, we tend to receive more calls for service on these types of roadways, mainly to mitigate dust concerns. The City does make attempts to apply water to gravel roadways as time and resources allow. Because the effectiveness of applying water is minimal, as the added moisture quickly evaporates in warmer weather, the City is currently trying out an additive that will better keep moisture in the roadbed. In years past, it was common practice to spread heavy oil-based products over gravel roads to control dust, but that kind of treatment has been long since eliminated in light of the negative environmental impacts. City maintenance crews make attempts to fill potholes and re-grade gravel roadways when time allows. As a courtesy to those living on gravel streets, try to use alternate routes during dry times when the dust level is the highest.
Some agencies are using different kinds of chemicals such as calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, or sodium chloride on gravel roadways to reduce dust, but the effectiveness and costs are unknown at this time. The City’s existing equipment is not adequate to apply these chemicals and our current street maintenance budget does not have funds for purchasing chemical treatments for use on the City’s gravel roadways.
Last year the City Council considered including the paving of some of the City’s gravel roads each year using funds from the Pavement Management Program. The decision at that time was that until the City was in a financial position to provide adequate maintenance on its existing paved roads, funds from the Pavement Management Program should not be used for paving gravel streets. The current funding level for the Pavement Management Program is extremely limited, and in recent history there have been insufficient funds available annually to provide appropriate levels of maintenance to the City’s streets. The City’s road and bridge funds go toward maintaining our three bridges and existing paved roadways, with the budget often being overstretched due to costly bridge repairs. As a result the overall condition of the City’s pavement has deteriorated significantly. The City goes through a detailed methodology when selecting roadway segments for pavement maintenance so that we can maximize our limited resources. This system is based on providing maintenance resources to prioritized roadway segments.
Many of the gravel roads throughout the City existed before they were incorporated into the City limits. Residents with property adjacent to gravel roads knowingly purchased that property on an unimproved road, and in reality the price paid for property along unimproved roadways reflects the lack of frontage improvements. Property values and subsequent property taxes are typically less for property on unimproved streets compared to similar properties on improved streets.
Typically, almost all paved streets within the City are initially improved by the adjacent properties, generally at the time of the original plat. It is only fair that individual property owners along unpaved streets pay their fair share toward the initial improvement to their frontage.
If homeowners would like to pave their gravel streets there are two mechanisms available. One option is through a Local Improvement District (LID) process. Another option is a right-of-way permit process. With LIDs, the City manages the project including: design, bidding, construction, inspection, administration, accounting and billing. The LID is used when the right-of-way improvements are extensive and complicated to construct and is also more time consuming and expensive for the assessed homeowners. In most cases the right-of-way permit process can be used by citizens or homeowners associations to pave their gravel streets. It requires a simple plan view drawing that has details of the limits of the proposed work attached to a City right-of-way permit.
Using 2008 construction prices, a rough estimate of the cost of road construction is $1.00 to $1.20 per square foot plus labor. The City will provide a free right-of-way permit but there is a small fee for inspection. The City also provides specifications for the road preparation. Paving does increase surface water runoff into streams; therefore a drainage review by the City is required when 5,000 square feet or more is paved. Treatment of water runoff may be necessary before being dispersed.
If you have any questions or would like more information about paving your gravel street, please contact Amy Swartz at (206) 870-6592 or aswartz@desmoineswa.gov.
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