Lexington, KY - As the snow clears, potholes are springing up like daisies and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) will soon begin major road repair work. Council members are currently working with LFUCG Division of Streets, Roads & Forestry to identify which roads in their districts will be repaved in 2010.
Each summer, LFUCG's Division of Engineering reviews which roads need resurfacing work. The review takes place on a four-year cycle, with one-third of Lexington's roads being checked in years one through three, and all of Lexington's roads being looked at in the fourth year. This summer, all of Lexington's roads will receive a new pavement rating index review. The rating is based on a variety of factors, including the severity of surface irregularities, joint deterioration, block cracking and wheel rutting. These ratings are combined for a composite score ranging from 1 to 100. Lexington streets with a score of 65 or less are considered priority streets that require resurfacing.
Some roads do not require full resurfacing even though they look bad. About 17 percent of LFUCG's road maintenance funds are spent on crack seal, asphalt rejuvenation and manhole adjustments. If road deterioration is not severe, LFUCG may crack seal or patch the localized deteriorated area. A street with mild problems may also get "rejuvenated," a process in which a liquid formula is applied to replenish the chemical binders in asphalt that are lost from exposure to the elements. The rejuvenation seal generally extends the life of asphalt from three to five years. LFUCG also now incorporates a new manhole replacement technology to raise the level of manhole covers that have sunken.
For many years, LFUCG has allocated its road repair funds equally among the council districts. Over time, however, the condition of roads in larger council districts have become much worse than roads in smaller districts. For example, my own Council District 10 has more than 17 times the length of bad roads rated below 65 than the smallest council district. To bring fairness to the process, the council approved my resolution in January to allocate available road funds based on each council district's percentage of roads rated below 65 on the LFUCG pavement rating index.
Each year Lexington receives about $2 million in road repair funds from the state. However, in recent years the urban county council has also bonded an additional $3 million for road repairs as part of a 10-year road renovation plan. While this funding has not yet been approved, I hope the council will soon authorize the bonding of an additional $3 million for repaving so that we can continue the process of returning Lexington's streets and roads to an acceptable state of repair.
Finally, a word about potholes. In February 2010 alone, LFUCG Streets, Roads & Forestry repaired more than 2,300 potholes. If you would like LFUCG to repair a pothole you have found, please call LexCall 3-1-1 or send an e-mail to LexCall at 311@lexingtonky.gov. If you e-mail LexCall, please include your name, contact information and the location of the problem. To report a pothole on a state road, such as Harrodsburg Road or Nicholasville Road, please call (800) PATCH-IT or visit http://511.ky.gov/Reportapothole.html.
You can check out your own street rating by visiting a link on my council webpage. For more information on LFUCG's Department of Streets, Roads & Forestry, please visit www.lexingtonky.gov.