Under Golden Valley's PMP, the City evaluates streets for type and extent of pavement distresses. These distresses are analyzed by a software program that gives each street a Pavement Quality Index (PQI) rating in the good, fair, or poor range.

• Good PQI: Some maintenance, such as sealcoating, is required.
• Fair PQI: Some rehabilitation, such as overlay, curb replacement, etc, is required.
• Poor PQI: Needs major rehabilitation.
  

Generally, streets with a PQI in the poor range have pavements that have failed entirely. Since these streets are considered to be among the worst in the City, maintaining them with standard procedures (patching, crack sealing, and sealcoating) is very expensive and ineffective at improving their quality. Major rehabilitation, such as reconstruction or pavement reclamation, is usually the most cost-effective solution. Major rehabilitation is then followed by maintenance measures, such as crack sealing and sealcoating, to prolong the life of the pavement.

Each year, City staff determines which streets are the highest priority for rehabilitation and asks the City Council to authorize a feasibility report. Staff then performs preliminary survey and design work and meets with the affected property owners at least one year before a proposed project is presented to the City Council at a public hearing.

Using the information it gathers, staff prepares a feasibility report to present to the City Council at a public hearing. Staff also sends public hearing notification to each resident along streets being considered for rehabilitation at least 10 days before the hearing.

At the public hearing, staff provides the Council and residents with the findings of the feasibility report, which includes information about preliminary design, estimated costs, and preliminary special assessments. Residents then have the opportunity to comment, pro or con, on the proposed project. After the hearing is closed, the City Council votes to determine whether or not the project goes forward.

Concrete curb and gutter provides superior drainage following rainfall and snow melt as well as a structural edge to support the roadway—two key advantages over rolled bituminous curbs or no curb at all.

Superior Drainage

Proper drainage off a roadway is critical because moisture in the street subgrade is a primary cause of premature street failure. Concrete curb and gutter provides superior drainage following rainfall and snow melt because the curb is less permeable than blacktop. During construction of a street, the contractor can more easily control grade with concrete curb and gutter than with asphalt, thus preventing the formation of "bird baths" (standing water) at the edge of the road.

Structural Edge Support for Roadway

Lack of structural support allows pavement distress (settlements, edge cracking, and alligator cracking) to appear along the edge of a roadway much sooner, another primary cause of premature street failure.

Concrete curb and gutter provides a structural edge to support the roadway. When pavement is placed, the solid concrete mass provided by the curb supports the pavement better than a soil that becomes soft when wet. That's why it costs much more to maintain and extend the life of a street that doesn't have concrete curbs.

Because of drainage concerns, the City has deemed it essential to install concrete curb and gutter on roadways with grades flatter than 1 percent, steeper than 8 percent, and in areas where the property adjacent to the roadway is below the level of the street.

In general, concrete curb and gutter will extend the life of a new street by approximately 25 percent and will significantly reduce long-term maintenance costs. This long-term gain will quickly offset the initial extra installation cost (approximately $1 to $2 per foot more than the cost of bituminous curbs).

Other Options

Although there are structural benefits to concrete curb and gutter, some people don't like the way it looks. To address this aesthetics issue, the Pavement Management Program allows the possibility of opting out of concrete curb and gutter, within certain parameters.

First, the street must not be in an essential area that requires concrete curb and gutter. Second, a significant majority of residents on the street must indicate a preference to opt out. The City will distribute a survey about curb and gutter to every resident on streets being rehabilitated. This survey will have several choices for each property owner to select, based upon their personal preference for their street. Staff tallies the results and forwards the information to the City Council. The City Council makes the final determination whether or not to install concrete curb and gutter.

Except for streets that have excessive parking needs, unusually high traffic for a local street, or a safety problem that can be addressed with a wider roadway, the PMP is set up to maintain the existing width of roadways. This strategy minimizes construction impacts on driveways, trees, bushes, and landscaping. However, there are times where significant impacts cannot be avoided.

Landscaping

• Any of your yard or the boulevard in front of your home that is disturbed will be restored by grading and sodding.
• During preliminary project design, the City considers the impacts of various street layouts. Although these layouts are revised whenever possible to minimize removal of trees and shrubs, sometimes removal is unavoidable. In these cases, engineering staff and the City Forester work with property owners to mitigate the removals by planting new trees and shrubs.

Driveways

• During street reconstruction, a portion of your driveway will be removed to properly perform construction. The City pays to replace that portion of your driveway with a similar material that was present before the project.
• Residents whose driveways are disturbed can choose to reconstruction their entire driveway, at their expense, as part of the Driveway Reconstruction Program.

Golden Valley residents who live on streets scheduled for rehabilitation may take advantage of a unique opportunity to reconstruct their driveways during street construction.

If your driveway connects with one of the reconstructed streets, you can have it reconstructed (in blacktop or concrete) as part of the project based on contract prices.

During street reconstruction, a portion of your driveway will be removed to properly perform construction. The City of Golden Valley pays to replace that portion of your driveway. If you choose to reconstruct the rest of your driveway, you can pay in cash after construction to avoid interest, or you can have the costs assessed against your property for 10 years.

Estimates for driveway replacement are based on the unit prices for driveway work outlined in the street reconstruction contract. Estimates will be based on either six-inch-thick concrete pavement or three-inch-thick compacted asphalt pavement. Both will include six inches of aggregate base. The costs available through this program may or may not be a savings from hiring your own contractor. If you are considering this program, you are strongly encouraged to seek private competitive bids.

Additional information regarding the driveway replacement program will be forwarded to you when your street is rehabilitated.

If existing storm drainage is not adequate, it will be improved as part of the street rehabilitation. The City also evaluates the sanitary sewer and water systems under each street, and any necessary repairs or replacements are done as part of the project. In most cases, this utility work is performed at no extra cost to the property owner.

During project design, the City encourages each private utility company (CenterPoint Energy, Xcel Energy, Qwest, cable TV) to improve or repair any of its facilities within the streets along with the project. This approach helps reduce street excavations and disturbances to the neighborhood in the future.

The City also conducts inflow and infiltration (I/I) inspections as part of each PMP. Inspections are done the year prior to the street reconstruction.

• 75-80% — Financed by the City as a whole through general taxes
• 20-25% — Special assessments to adjoining properties

Special assessment rates are set each year by the City Council based on past construction costs and inflation. All properties with uses other than residential (multiple housing, institutional, commercial, and industrial) are assessed based on the actual street frontage being improved. All single-family residential properties are assessed on a per-unit basis, which means that each unit pays the same assessment.

The residential special assessment rate covers an asphalt street with concrete curb and gutter. Residents are not assessed for ongoing maintenance necessary to prolong the life of the new street (sealcoating, etc).

Payment Options

• Pay in cash following the assessment hearing, or
• Place against your property taxes, to be paid over 10 years with 7% interest

How Residential Rates Are Calculated

• All single-family, residential properties are assessed on a per-unit basis, which means that each unit pays the same assessment. A single family property is assessed as a single unit. Duplex properties are assessed as two units.
• The unit assessment is based on a standard residential lot. If a lot is oversized and could potentially be subdivided into two or more conforming lots, one unit is assessed for each potential lot. However, only one of these units is assessed with the project; the rest are deferred until (if) the property is subdivided.
• Corner lots are assessed a half unit for each of the adjacent streets being improved, with a maximum of one full unit assessed. In other words, if you live on a corner lot with streets on three sides, you will only be assessed for two of those streets.
• If your property has a street along the backyard, it will not be assessed for the improvement.