CHESAPEAKE
Rosanna Moore has lived in the city nearly 50 years.
As she drives near her Great Bridge home and Greenbrier, she said, a question often comes to mind: Has this road been repaved in the past 30 years?
Moore said she sees cracked pavement and faded lines on many of the city’s thoroughfares.
“Seems like every intersection I come to, the turn arrows are worn away,” she said.
Moore said she wondered if the city had a schedule for street repaving and striping. So she reached out to The Pilot’s Glad You Asked initiative to find out.
“I’m assuming if it’s bad out here, it’s bad in other areas,” Moore said.
Earl Sorey, assistant director of the public works department, said the city’s schedule for resurfacing projects is updated and reviewed annually. The city maintains 2,378 lane miles of roads.
A list of 41 projects for this year can be found online and includes portions of Bainbridge and Deep Creek boulevards, as well as Cedar and Kempsville roads.
Those street maintenance projects have risen to the top based on a system that catalogs and categorizes traffic volume and current pavement conditions of city roads, Sorey said.
Projects, however, are not necessarily listed in order of priority because conditions can change.
The city regularly assesses Chesapeake’s streets, Sorey said, but data is also collected through drivers’ input.
Sorey said there are always more needs than funding. The city relies on state maintenance funds and grants for repaving. This year, Chesapeake got about $4.3 million from the state for citywide projects and $1 million in grant money for work on Kempsville Road.
Another $2 million in local funds will be used for high-priority needs on residential and minor roads, Sorey said, but no specific projects have been identified.
When the city is assessing street conditions, it looks at entire sections for pavement integrity and flexibility, Sorey said. Safety is a big concern, he added, but the city also tries to be strategic and repave roads before they become a large maintenance burden.
Traffic volume and the types of vehicles traversing a road contribute to deteriorating conditions, he said. The more trucks you have, he said, the more wear and tear on roads.
Repaving projects will be done between now and next June by two on-call contractors, Sorey said, and marker repainting is included.
At least three repainting projects are on tap this year, but the list is not comprehensive, Sorey said. Work is often done as needed.
Priority goes to critical intersection markers, such as the triple left turn off Greenbrier’s Woodlake Drive, Sorey said.
Drivers are welcome to provide input about street maintenance needs through the Customer Contact Center, 382-CITY (2489).
GOT A QUESTION? PUT A PILOT REPORTER ON IT.
Hampton Roads has plenty of curiosities. Ever think of a question you wish someone would answer?
If so, we want to hear from you through Glad You Asked. Readers send questions through an online form, and our newsroom picks three at a time for an online vote. The winner becomes a story.
So what makes you wonder? Visit PilotOnline.com/ask. We’re listening.
Victoria Bourne, 757-222-5563, victoria.bourne@pilotonline.com