Council reviews pavement strategies, staff recommends keeping current overlay practice and monitoring bond-funded repairs

Richardson — Assistant City Manager Charles Gough and Assistant Director Katie Baron briefed the City Council on pavement-management strategies, presenting the city's Pavement Condition Index (PCI) framework, funding picture and options for asphalt overlays and concrete panel replacement.

Gough told the council the city's network includes a large length of streets (as stated in the presentation) and that pavement types include primarily concrete, concrete with asphalt overlay (about 12% of the network), and a small amount of full-depth asphalt. He explained the PCI scoring range (100 to 0) and said the 2020 snapshot used in prior planning showed roughly one-third of streets in the "good" category, most in "fair," and a small percentage in "poor." Those PCI levels help determine whether to use preventive maintenance, preservation and rehabilitation or full reconstruction.

Gough outlined two overlay approaches: the traditional mill-and-overlay and a newer thin-bonded overlay used in nearby Plano. He noted the thin approach has shorter application windows, fewer qualified contractors and higher upfront per-mile cost in the bids he reviewed — staff estimated a possible $1.1 million per mile for some thin-bonded approaches versus roughly $500,000 per mile for certain traditional overlays on major multi-lane sections. "It's a little bit unproven," Gough said of the thin-bonded option and recommended waiting a few years to evaluate Plano's results and the effect of Richardson's 2026 bond-funded panel replacements before expanding an asphalt overlay program to additional streets.

Gough also summarized funding: the 2026 bond program includes roughly $90 million for street-and-alley projects and about $25 million specifically for concrete panel replacement; staff expects $5 million per year in localized panel-replacement from the bond program as part of an overall rehab strategy. He recommended maintaining current mill-and-overlay work on streets where asphalt already exists and using localized panel replacement and targeted preservation on fair streets rather than a broad, immediate shift to thin-bonded overlays.

Council members pressed staff on cost-per-mile assumptions, drainage impacts from adding asphalt over concrete, contractor availability and life-expectancy assumptions for thin overlays. Katie Baron described technical trade-offs at curbs and milling edges that can affect bonding and longevity. Several council members urged more aggressive maintenance funding and long-term modeling to avoid repeatedly "chasing our tails." City staff said they will track effects of the bond-funded repairs and return to council with updated PCI assessments and cost-per-mile estimates.

What happens next: Staff will continue with current pavement programs, include $5 million per year in the 2026 bond program for localized concrete panel replacement, and return to the council with deeper analysis during the budget's streets "deep dive."