Roads need money infusion

The Hernando County Public Works Department needs another $1.4-million a year to keep local drivers on asphalt and out of potholes, said department director Charles Mixson.

“In six or seven years, we’re going back where we started if we don’t get some more funding,” Mixson told the board.

Mixson spends about $6-million a year maintaining the county’s roads. That’s not enough to keep pace with asphalt prices, he explained. In 2001, asphalt, made up largely of oil, cost $36 a ton. Now it costs about $75 a ton.

Postponing road projects doesn’t save money, either. The longer maintenance is postponed, the more it costs, Busch said.

“This is what happens when you leave them alone,” he said, pointing to a slide showing a badly pocked and pitted road. “At that point, it starts costing $150,000 a mile.”

With the additional $1.4-million a year, the department would be able to get the 289 miles of collector roads into “very good” shape and keep them that way. The 788 miles of residential roads also would be maintained, but the quality of the roads would drop over the next five years from “good” condition to “fair”. The condition is defined by a Pavement Condition Index that scores roads from zero, or failing, to 100, or very good.

St Petersburg Times