Greeley street staff: $12 million pavement scenario lets condition slip to 58 by 2045

Greeley street staff told the City Council on Nov. 10 that continuing at about $12 million a year for pavement, with that amount growing with Keep Greeley Moving revenue, would let the average street condition fall to a rating of 58 by 2045, below the city's target of 70.

The rating is the Pavement Condition Index, or PCI. Staff said $14 million a year for pavement would be enough to maintain the system as it stands.

If the Keep Greeley Moving bill did not pass in 2029, staff said, the rating would fall to 26. The outlook is in 2026 dollars and assumes 5.4% annual growth in Keep Greeley Moving revenue and 4% annual construction cost inflation.

The 2016-2025 Keep Greeley Moving program cost $116 million and raised pavement condition from PCI 61 to 69. It directed $90 million to pavement and $26 million to concrete. Staff said about 40% of streets are adequate today and about 40% unsatisfactory, and that under the $12 million scenario the 2045 mix would be approximately the same.

The funding outlook lists 2026 planned funding of $12 million for pavement and $6 million for concrete. Yearly needs are $19.5 million and $5.5 million. The total of $18 million is 69% of the $26.0 million need, with pavement funded at 61% and concrete at 109%.

Staff described the 2027 program as an $18 million effort focused on fewer neighborhoods. It includes 4th Street from 35th to 47th, 23rd from 16th to Reservoir Road and some Billy Martinez neighborhood streets. The pavement program lists 22.5 lane-miles of work, 13.6 of overlay and 9.0 of reconstruction, with $12 million for pavement and $6 million for concrete.

Overlay and reconstruction account for 75% of the 50-year pavement cost, staff said. An overlay removes and replaces the first 3 inches of pavement, while reconstruction rebuilds from the foundation, which typically needs it every 50 years to avoid deterioration. Staff also said maintenance during the first 75% of a project's life can save up to $4 or $5 later by avoiding more costly treatments.

New streets add to the load. Greeley has added about 15 centerline miles of streets since 2018, and the presentation lists 2.7 miles of new streets per year, or 0.7%, and $232,000 a year in additional upkeep. Staff said the city does not know how many miles will be added in the next 10 years.

A council member asked about 23rd Avenue, saying utility work was finished and the road patched. The member asked whether planned construction could address speeding and the timing of the lights under the underpass, or whether that would be separate.

Staff said limited right-of-way, along with timing and funding, constrains improvements there. "So the sidewalk, the edge of the curb, is the right-of-way line," staff said, adding that the county never dedicated right-of-way when the area was annexed.

Staff said Keep Greeley Moving has no funding for improvements on 23rd Avenue but that signal timing coordination could be reviewed. Signals were retimed two years ago, staff said, and could be reassessed.

The council member also raised traffic when school lets out around 3:30 p.m. and called it "sort of a nightmare." The member then asked whether new development is paying enough in fees to cover roads and whether the city is collecting enough development fees.

Staff said officials had discussed development impact fees and how road assets are built. Current engineering standards are expected to provide a 50-year life for most streets, staff said, though that is challenging on very high-volume streets, and higher standards would raise initial development costs. Another staff member said higher-quality initial construction could produce longer lifecycles and likely lower lifecycle costs.

A council member who walked from 16th Street on 7th Avenue to 4th Street and back down 3rd said only a couple of spots showed damage and there were no potholes. "You guys are actually really crushing it," the member said, praising the work done on a limited budget.

The member said the city would need to seek the tax again and urged staff to publish a list of individual projects and locations on Keep or Speak Up Greeley. Residents could then see how the program affects neighborhoods and why it should continue, the member said.

Council Member Ryan Roth praised work at UC Health Hospital to open 29th Street at 65th and asked when it would be finished. A staff member said the last they had heard was the end of November. Roth said opening the route would provide "another direction east-west instead of putting that extra traffic on Highway 34."

Roth also urged the department to put up clear, readable signs on Keep Greeley Moving projects. "Your tax dollars at work. Keep Greeley moving," he said the signs should read, so citizens know the fund maintains streets, sidewalks and curbs ahead of a future discussion on extending it. Staff said the signs were recently refreshed and fabricated by the sign shop, and clean new ones would be put up on the streets.