Emily Featherston
Asphalt degradation and potholes, like this one on Crosshaven Drive, have led to nearly 30 miles of Vestavia roads being deemed to be in “fair to poor” condition.
When driving through various parts of the city, certain things are unavoidable: Congestion around schools in the early afternoon or the frequent steep hills in neighborhoods near the Vestavia Country Club are all familiar to Vestavia Hills drivers.
Potholes and street degradation are unfortunately another common encounter, but over the next few years, the city hopes to continue the recent push for road improvements.
City Manager Jeff Downes said a recent study found that nearly 30 miles of residential roads, roughly 9 percent of the city’s roadways, are in “fair to poor” condition.
“Being able to put a plan together to address those 30 miles is very important,” Downes said.
Two years ago, Downes said the City Council thought residential paving was “of the highest priority,” and authorized funding for one of the larger residential paving projects in recent history. Over the course of 2015 and early 2016, 13 miles of residential streets were resurfaced.
“That made a nice dent, but it still leaves work to be done as far as residential paving,” he said.
As of the study, the roads in dire need of resurfacing are located in all parts of Vestavia Hills, from Cahaba Heights to streets off of Highway 31 and Tyler Road, and more may be added as time goes on.
Downes said the plan is to address the 30 additional miles identified in the study over the next two to three years.
Several major factors have lead to the need for resurfacing, Downes said. Asphalt generally has a lifespan of 10 to 20 years, but with heavy construction traffic and cuts made by utility companies roads weaken and decay faster.
Downes said engineers have also found poor conditions in road bases in several locations throughout the city, such as Shades Crest Road and Sicard Hollow Road.
When the foundation is poor, resurfacing is generally not enough.
“When you have a poor road base, it will lead to pavement failures in areas that could have just recently been paved,” he said.
To combat this, certain areas will likely need to be dug out and strengthened, meaning portions of major residential roadways may be closed for longer periods of time, requiring detours that Downes said the city recognizes are a major inconvenience.
The 30 miles of residential streets up for resurfacing are in addition to the roughly 35 miles of larger connector roads that are either currently being resurfaced, in the planning stages of being resurfaced or were just recently completed.
Several of these projects, such as the work on Rocky Ridge Road, have been multi-jurisdictional, which Downes said that while helping with the cost of projects, adds to the complexity and time table.
Still, Downes said he and others within the city feel like positive progress has been made thanks to the willingness by all jurisdictions to cooperate and figure out a rational paving schedule.
In the next several months, additional multi-jurisdictional work is scheduled to take place on Cahaba River Road, Crosshaven Drive and Sicard Hollow Road.
The largest variable for any resurfacing project, residential or otherwise, Downes said, is cost.
“When we as a city look at trying to make sure that we keep our transportation corridors in good shape, we have to look at funding sources,” he said.
For local projects, that funding usually comes from the city’s gas tax, and is often combined with other funding sources or inter-jurisdictional funding, depending on the project type.
Downes said residential repaving is typically re-bid every three years, and the contract for 2016-19 residential repaving was put out for bid in early August. Companies bid on a per-unit basis, and that per-unit cost will ultimately determine how many roads can be addressed right away, and which will have to wait.
In a typical year, Downes said the city sees about $300,000 in gas taxes, and he estimated that the residential project will likely be in the $4-5 million dollar range, meaning the city will have to complete it in phases.
The bid for the 2016-19 paving project will go before the city council in September, and while it may take a while, Downes said all of the streets should hopefully get a facelift in the near future.
“Our target is to, within a three-year period of time, reach those 30 miles as we try to keep the road conditions in Vestavia Hills in good shape,” he said.
Over those three years, Downes asked for one thing.
“I call for patience, because it is not a pleasant thing to undergo the challenges of any construction, road construction or otherwise,” he said, “but it is our goal at the end of the day to have an improved ride and transportation infrastructure for our residents.”
