Agenda Item No. 10
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: October 23, 2023 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Steve Khan, Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Gabriel Munoz-Morris, Senior Engineer
SUBJECT: City Streets Pavement Cut Policy
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Pavement Cut Policy to establish guidelines for pavement cuts in recently paved streets.
BACKGROUND
The City has completed approximately 70% of its scheduled Measure K-14 local street paving projects since 2014. These projects represent an investment of approximately $34 million in local street rehabilitation and repair with an additional $14 million planned over the next 7-9 years. In addition to Measure K-14 projects, the City has also completed $2.4 million in major street rehabilitation projects in recent years and is in design or construction of an additional $12.5 million expected to be completed in the next five years. These investments have resulted in a significant increase in the systemwide Pavement Condition Index (PCI), an industry-recognized metric for evaluating the condition of a street network. Staff’s assessment is that this public investment in city streets since 2014 has contributed to greater private development and increased property values throughout the city.
Local utility providers are also routinely working to modernize and improve their facilities, many of which are located under city streets. When planning street projects, staff works extensively with utility providers to try and schedule utility work ahead of street paving. In addition, when reviewing plans for private development projects, staff notifies applicants of upcoming paving projects so that required work in the street can be completed ahead of the City’s paving project. These efforts have resulted in successful coordination between the City and other utility companies and developers though it is impossible to prevent all cuts to recently paved City streets.
Streets are often cut into to facilitate underground utility work, installation of public improvements associated with private development, or emergency underground repair work. These pavement cuts are becoming more common given increased development activity throughout the city and increasingly affect repaved streets. When a street is first paved, the PCI is reset to 100 but begins to slowly degrade over time due to routine use, weather impacts, and degradation of the asphalt over time. If a newly paved street is cut into, the PCI is immediately adjusted down by up to 20 points reducing the PCI to as low as 80 as the new cut creates a discontinuity in the paved surface.
These discontinuities typically lead to accelerated degradation of the street and can, over time, lead to more rutting or potholes over the life of the pavement section. The City’s engineering standard for utility trench restoration counters this effect by requiring a “tee cut” at the topmost layer of the paved surface to bridge between the trench section and the surrounding paved roadway section but no restoration can fully offset the effect of the pavement cut. Also, projects cutting into the street typically require multiple cuts for different utility connections (electric, gas, Staff Report: City Streets Pavement Cut Policy Page 2
October 23, 2023
water, sewer) which leads to a patchwork of original street section and trenches.
For development projects, the City’s development code does not include specific language governing pavement cuts into recently paved streets as the intent of the Development Code is to establish uniform requirements for all projects. The significant investment by the City to pave its street network in such an accelerated timeframe leads to cases where a development project begins construction a few years after a street was paved.
Given the City’s significant investment in streets and to base decisions on a formal policy rathe rather than best engineering practices, staff is recommending the adoption of a Pavement Cut Policy that dictates required pavement repairs, in excess of standard utility trench restorations, for cuts into recently paved streets. Staff has prepared the attached Pavement Cut Policy that establishes required pavement restorations in addition to the requirements of the City’s adopted engineering standards that protect the City’s investment in its streets while allowing for needed cuts in the street in an orderly manner. The proposed policy establishes three categories for pavement cuts as documented below.
Pavement Cuts Within Five Years of Paving
It is most critical to protect newly paved streets from degradation through pavement cuts though it is not possible to fully prevent such cuts. This policy establishes a five-year window during which pavement cuts limited to one side of the street must restore the street from the edge of the gutter (or pavement edge) to the centerline. Any pavement cuts that cross the street centerline must restore the street from edge of gutter to edge of gutter (or pavement edge to pavement edge).
The restoration area width shall be equal to the width of the property (or project disturbance for cuts not associated with one unique property).
Utility trenches would be restored per City engineering standards to ensure proper compaction of subgrade soils and a 2-inch grind and overlay of the top asphalt section for the entire limits described here would be installed to avoid small cut areas and create a pavement bridge between roadway sections and utility trenches. Cuts limited to areas outside the vehicle travel lanes would only be required to restore the asphalt to the edge of the travel lane to avoid cutting into the vehicle travel area, which is more heavily loaded due to vehicle traffic and more susceptible to early failure as a result of pavement cuts.
Pavement Cuts Within Five to Ten Years of Paving
Pavement cuts in streets paved between 5 and 10 years ago also accelerate pavement degradation though routine use of the street has already begun that process. It is still critical to ensure proper restoration of the roadway to prevent accelerated degradation of the street as much as possible. During this time, any pavement cuts limited to one side of the street must restore the street from the edge of the gutter (or pavement edge) to the centerline. Any pavement cuts that cross the street centerline must restore the street from edge of gutter to edge of gutter (or pavement edge to pavement edge). The restoration area width shall be equal to the project disturbance. Any patches within two-feet of a gutter, asphalt dyke, concrete v-ditch, or other concrete improvement shall replace the top 2-inches of asphalt to that concrete improvement.
For projects with multiple trenches/pavement cuts, any pavement cuts within four feet of each other shall require a two-inch grind and overlay for the area between the two pavement cuts.
Trench restorations shall be as wide as the widest cut on the trench alignment. Cuts limited to areas outside the vehicle travel lanes would only be required to restore the asphalt to the edge of Staff Report: City Streets Pavement Cut Policy Page 3
October 23, 2023
the travel lane to avoid cutting into the vehicle travel area, which is more heavily loaded due to vehicle traffic and more susceptible to early failure as a result of pavement cuts.
Pavement Cuts After More Than Ten Years From Paving or On Sealed Streets Pavement cuts in streets paved more than 10 years ago or in streets that were sealed on the last pavement project including that street would only be required to restore the asphalt per the current edition of the City’s engineering standards. Trenches and patches shall include a one-foot tee-cut on all sides. Any patches within two-feet of a gutter, asphalt dyke, concrete v-ditch, or other concrete improvement shall tee-cut to that concrete improvement. For projects with multiple trenches/pavement cuts, any pavement cuts within four feet of each other shall require a two-inch grind and overlay for the area between the two pavement cuts. Trench restorations shall be as wide as the widest cut on the trench alignment.
The policy also provides for a variance to standard requirements if approved by the City Engineer.
This would be for unique cases where the standard requirement would be impossible to achieve.
See Attachment 2 for exhibits depicting typical pavement cuts and proposed pavement restoration areas per this policy.
Lastly, staff reviewed similar policies in nearby agencies. The City of Pismo Beach passed an ordinance detailing pavement cut requirements similar to the requirements of this policy in 2018.
The City of Arroyo Grande has a pavement cut moratorium which dictates that pavement cuts will not be approved on newly paved streets. Pavement cut policies including moratoriums are common in most cities to dictate restoration requirements on newly paved streets in excess of typical engineering standards to protect the public investment in paving streets.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact of adopting this policy although it is possible that the City could realize a savings in long term pavement maintenance and street rehabilitation costs as a result of more orderly pavement cuts that protect the City’s investment in its rehabilitated streets.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Adopt a Pavement Cut Policy; or
2. Adopt a modified version of this policy; or
3. Do not adopt a policy; or
4. Provide alternate direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.
Attachments
1. Pavement Cut Policy
2. Pavement Cut Restoration Exhibits
City of Grover Beach
P U B L I C W O R K S D E P A R T M E N T
Policy Procedure Guideline
GUIDELINE TITLE:
Pavement Cut Policy
GUIDELINE #
0003
EFFECTIVE DATE:
November 1, 2023
REVISED DATE: PAGE(S):
2 Purpose:
To establish a policy for pavement cut requirements after a street has been paved. The requirements of this policy supplement requirements for pavement restorations detailed in Development Code Section
5.20 for development projects.
Adopted Procedure:
This policy shall apply to pavement cuts on all streets as pavement cuts on any street reduce the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of that street in an irreparable way. The Public Works Department shall require more extensive pavement repairs when a project cuts a recently paved street to ensure that recently paved streets maintain high PCIs.
The City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) lists all upcoming pavement rehabilitation projects.
Property owners, contractors, developers, and utility companies are encouraged to review this list to make every effort to perform their work ahead of a City street paving project.
City’s Adopted Capital Improvement Program:
https://www.grover.org/DocumentCenter/View/10276/07_Capital-Projects In addition to the City’s CIP, the City maintains a list of all future Measure K-14 projects. Property owners, contractors, developers, and utility companies are encouraged to review this list to make every effort to perform their work ahead of a Measure K-14 paving project.
Measure K-14 Streets Yet to Be Paved:
https://www.grover.org/DocumentCenter/View/12022/StreetRehabandRepairMap_ALL_completed_curr ent_future?bidId=
In addition to the City’s CIP, the City maintains a list of all future major street paving projects. Property owners, contractors, developers, and utility companies are encouraged to review this list to make every effort to perform their work ahead of a major street paving project.
Major Streets Yet to Be Paved:
https://www.grover.org/DocumentCenter/View/12022/StreetRehabandRepairMap_ALL_completed_curr ent_future?bidId=
Pavement Restoration Requirements:
Pavement restoration requirements for all projects subject to a City building permit shall be conditioned per Development Code Section 5.20. For all projects subject to a City building permit, this policy shall supplement the requirements of Development Code Section 5.20. For all projects not subject to a City building permit, work in the public Right-of-Way shall still require an encroachment permit and all Attachment 1
Title: Pavement Cut Policy Guideline 0003
Effective: November 1, 2023 Revised: Page 2 of 2
pavement restoration shall conform to all applicable City standards and specifications as well as this policy. Pavement cuts shall be divided into three categories as follows:
Pavement cuts within five years of paving:
Pavement cuts within five years from the City’s last paving project shall be required to restore the PCI of the street as much as possible. For any cuts contained to one side of the street centerline only but that disturb the travel lane, a full half-width pavement repair shall be required for the limits of the property/project disturbance. Any trenching shall be restored in accordance with the current edition of the City’s Engineering Standards and Specifications for trench repairs and an additional two-inch grind and overlay shall be required from the gutter/edge of pavement to the centerline. For any cuts crossing the centerline, a full-width pavement repair shall be required for the limits of the property/project disturbance. Any trenching shall be restored in accordance with the current edition of the City’s Engineering Standards and Specifications for trench repairs and an additional two-inch grind and overlay shall be required from the gutter/edge of pavement to opposite gutter/edge of pavement. Cuts limited to areas outside the vehicle travel lanes shall only be required to restore the asphalt to the edge of the travel lane to avoid cutting into the vehicle travel area.
Pavement cuts within five to ten years of paving:
For any cuts contained to one side of the street centerline only, a full half-width pavement repair shall be required for the limits of the project disturbance. Any trenching shall be restored in accordance with the current edition of the City’s Engineering Standards and Specifications for trench repairs and an additional two-inch grind and overall shall be required from the gutter/edge of pavement to the centerline. For any cuts crossing the centerline, a full-width pavement repair shall be required for the limits of the project disturbance. Any trenching shall be restored in accordance with the current edition of the City’s Engineering Standards and Specifications for trench repairs and an additional two-inch grind and overall shall be required from the gutter/edge of pavement to apposite gutter/edge of pavement. Trenches and patches shall include a one-foot tee cut on all sides. Any patches within twofeet of a gutter, asphalt dyke, concrete v-ditch, or other concrete improvement shall tee-cut to that concrete improvement. For projects with multiple trenches/pavement cuts, any pavement cuts within four feet of each other shall require a two-inch grind and overlay for the area between the two pavement cuts. Trench restorations shall be as wide as the widest cut on the trench alignment. Cuts limited to areas outside the vehicle travel lanes shall only be required to restore the asphalt to the edge of the travel lane to avoid cutting into the vehicle travel area.
Pavement cuts after more than ten years from paving or on sealed streets (regardless of time since last seal treatment):
Pavement cuts after more than ten years from the City’s last paving project shall only be required to restore asphalt per the current edition of the City’s Engineering Standards and Specifications.
Specifically, trenches and patches shall include a one-foot tee cut on all sides. Any patches within twofeet of a gutter, asphalt dyke, concrete v-ditch, or other concrete improvement shall tee-cut to that concrete improvement. For projects with multiple trenches/pavement cuts, any pavement cuts within four feet of each other shall require a two-inch grind and overlay for the area between the two pavement cuts. Trench restorations shall be as wide as the widest cut on the trench alignment.
Any variance from this policy must be approved in writing by the City Engineer prior to commencement of work. No variance will be approved otherwise. To request a variance, please email Public Works at [email protected] and detail why your project is not able to meet the requirements of this policy.
Attachment 2