Massive Vernon Road Maintenance Initiative Heading to Referendum

A $27 million bonding issue designed to improve - and in some instances reconstruct - nearly 67 miles of town roads is now in the hands of the voters. 

The Town Council took care of that on Tuesday by unanimously endorsing a bond ordinance that set up a Jan. 28 referendum. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Center 375 on Hartford Turnpike. 

In all, the project includes 219 roads, 54 percent of Vernon's 405  total roads. Work would be done over 66.92 miles, a number that represents 59.4 percent of the town's 112.8 miles of roadway.

Public Works Director Robert Kleinhans said the reasoning behind the proposal is: 

• Town roads need an organized plan for their improvements and maintenance and funding. 

• Currently, $100,000 or less of the Annual Town Aid for Roads grant is allocated to road repairs. 
• Local budget road funds have ranged from $30,000 to $50,000 annually for asphalt purchase. 

• The 2013 Road Bond Project with reconstruction, rehabilitation and pavement preservation practices will bring more than 200 roads to "a maintainable standard."

Kleinhans said the goals include:

• Providing a "safe drivable surface" to as many roads as possible. 

• Keeping good pavements in good shape and prolong their lives.  

• Reducing "payment life cycle costs."  
Kleinhans said the "planned preservation program" is needed because: 

• Planned preservation saves money. Routine preservation costs less than deferred repairs. 

• The full cost of preserving one lane-mile in good condition over time is less than half of the cost of letting an identical lane-mile deteriorate to poor condition and then making major repairs. 
How were road conditions assessed? 

• Two members of the DPW attended the Technology Transfer Center at the University of Connecticut for education and training regarding road maintenance and improvements. • An experienced DPW Truck driver then conducted a physical survey of all local roads. 

• The data was entered into "Road System Management Software I" obtained from the UConn T2 Center. 

• Pavement preservation techniques were then assigned to each road based on review of the right treatment for the right road at the right time. 

• Data was input on costs per road mile for the appropriate treatments. 

• Road Bond 2013 cost projections were determined with the RSM Software. 

The methods the would be used to address road conditions are: 

1. Reconstruction.
2. Reclaim and pave the surface.
3. Cold in-place recycling of the road materials.
4. Milling/paving.
5. Overlay.
6. Shim/chip sealing.
7. Chip/cape sealing.

The six-year plan is outlined in the attached chart. 

With interest, the $27,650,000 in bonding turns into a payout of about $40 million, Luddecke said. Other debt would be paid down to lessen the impact, he said.