Street maintenance is one of
the most important services a city can provide to protect property values and
enhance the quality of life in a community. This summer, crews are starting
work on this year’s street maintenance and rehabilitation projects. While
specific projects are scheduled each year, every street is assessed and
evaluated on an ongoing basis as part of a long-term, strategic approach to
maintaining the city’s street infrastructure.
These street improvements
will include rebuilding a roadway in some cases, while other streets will
undergo preventative maintenance that can extend the life of an existing road
surface for up to 10 years. This allows the City to optimize its resources,
while scheduling as many projects as possible.
Residents will be notified before repair or
maintenance work begins on a street. The following projects are scheduled for
this year:
Full-Depth Reconstruction
This process effectively provides for a new
street—replacing the subgrade and base, before constructing a new surface.
Streets slated for reconstruction include:
· Presidio Drive, from cul-de-sac end to Seco Drive
· Sabine Drive, from Chiltipin Drive to Broadway Avenue
· Georgia Place, from Broadway Avenue to Presidio Drive
· Gulfton Drive, from Broadway Avenue to Colonial Street
· Seagull Drive, from Sea Gate Drive to Sandpiper Drive
· Sandpiper Drive, from Broadway Avenue to cul-de-sac end
· Buddy Ganem Drive, from Wildcat Drive to Floerke Road
Full-Depth Reclamation
Some streets will undergo full-depth reclamation.
Similar to reconstruction, this process rebuilds worn-out asphalt pavement by
“recycling” the existing roadway. Existing
asphalt and base materials are pulverized using a specialized machine called a
reclaimer, then used as part of the rehabilitation of the street. Reclamation
is one of the most commonly used road rehabilitation methods and can increase
the roadway’s lifespan for decades. Streets
scheduled for full-depth reclamation are:
· Devlin Drive, from Broadway Avenue to Colonial Street
· Colonial Drive, from Broadway Avenue to cul-de-sac end
· St. Charles Street, from Memorial Parkway to Memorial Parkway
Mill & Overlay
This maintenance technique removes the top layer of a street,
then a new layer of pavement is put in place. This process can extend the
lifespan of a street for 7-10 years. The following streets are
scheduled for mill and overlay maintenance:
· Sea Gate Drive, from Gulfton Drive to the end of the cul-de-sac
· Comal Street, from Memorial Parkway to St. Charles Street
Seal Coat Process
Finally, numerous streets are slated for seal coat
reconstruction. Seal coating is the application of asphalt emulsion, followed
with an aggregate cover. This process can extend the life of a street from
three to six years.
The City of Portland has
employed the latest technology using mobile cameras and sensors to provide
data-driven information about the quality of Portland’s streets, rather than
rely on visual assessments. That data is used to prioritize plans for the repair
and maintenance of Portland’s streets and roadways.