City faces decision on funding street repairs

For every bump and bang drivers feel as they navigate the streets of Cape Girardeau, city officials are feeling them, too.

That's why residents and the city have a big decision to make regarding the future allocation of money in Transportation Trust Fund 5 for street repairs.

The state of the city's roads has been a hot topic since last year's winter storms caused widespread pavement damage. Recent winter storms produced more concerns about even more road damage.

Throughout the summer, city crews worked on nearly 40 streets in more than 20 subdivisions, filling potholes and completing thin asphalt overlays as a temporary fix for some of the most damaged roads.

To fully repair those roads would cost $2 million, according to a presentation public works director Tim Gramling delivered to the city council during a January meeting to consider projects for Transportation Trust Fund 5, or TTF.

Roads require ongoing maintenance as well to keep up with general wear and tear by traffic. That's why the city designates funds within TTF for repair needs.

Assistant city manager Molly Hood said since the first installation, about 27 percent of the TTF revenue has been set aside for general repair projects. As the city takes inventory of streets and sidewalks, she said it became apparent if voters approve TTF 5, more money needs to be set aside for repairs.

The committee formed to evaluate projects for TTF 5 and present the list to the council for consideration allotted $6 million to general projects, which includes expanded paving overlay and street, curb and gutter repair. The group's proposal, which includes eight specific projects and four alternates, has not been approved formally or finalized.

Conservative estimates expect the fifth TTF to bring in a total of $22.5 million over its five-year span.

Before any council action is taken, the proposal will be considered by the public. The first of two public meetings will be at 5:30 p.m. today at the city hall council chambers. The second meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. March 3 at the Osage Centre.

At both meetings, information on TTF and the projects it has funded will be available, along with a list of outstanding TTF 4 projects. Those attending may participate in an interactive experience where they are given fake money and asked how they would allocate funds for projects.

"They will be able to look at the eight recommended projects and have the opportunity to spend their cash on general repair projects like asphalt repair, concrete repair, sidewalks -- things like that," Hood said.

How TTF funds should be allocated is an especially important question for the fifth installment. Recommended projects focus on updating infrastructure, which city officials have said they believe is necessary, but the city faces a focus on repairs as well. Hood said 40 percent to 50 percent of funds need to be dedicated to general repair.

People typically use a limited number of roads, so an entire street system "is a really large thing to put your arms around," said Gramling in a recent interview. Cape Girardeau has nearly 32 million square feet of pavement, and about 25 percent needs some type of repair. Street conditions are labeled serious, poor, fair or good.

The good news is that most of the city's pavement falls into the good or fair category. Still, repairs are needed across the city.

"The repair we talk about is not just the worst kind of repair. It's small stuff, too, like filling potholes," Gramling said. "You have potholes that happen, areas that chip at the edges, large sections crack or the base fails. Sometimes the top layer starts to flake off."

And it's not just roads in need. Hood said the city often hears requests for additional streetlights. TTF would allow it to install new ones and to address some of the most damaged sidewalks. Ideally, she said the city would fix every sidewalk but because it's not financially possible, the focus is on the areas with greatest need.

"Those areas where they're critical, where you see the 3-inch difference in the panels, we would be able to go out and repair," Hood said.

Gramling prepared a chart to show the level of work that could be completed with varying funding scenarios. With $6 million dedicated to general repairs and projects, 100 percent of the pavement in serious condition -- nearly 702,000 square feet -- could be repaired, 12 percent of the 246,000 square feet of "poor" pavement could be repaired, and 50 percent of the "critical" sidewalks could be repaired. Of the $6 million, nearly a quarter of a million dollars is set aside for installing new streetlights.

To repair all of the serious and poor pavement and the critical sidewalks, and pay for new streetlights, requires a funding scenario of more than $16 million.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

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Want to go?

What: Transportation Trust Fund 5 public meeting

When: 5:30 p.m. today

Where: City council chambers, city hall, 401 Independence St.