Public Works & City Engineering's Joint Plan For Effective Asset Management
Like many other cities, North Salt Lake faces rising costs around maintaining its road network. With limited budgets and a need to extend the lifespan of its streets, the city’s public works and engineering departments searched for a more cost-effective approach to road preservation.
The Problem
Traditional methods, which the city had relied on for years, were straining the city’s budget and required frequent upkeep that also strained resources.
The Solution
To address these challenges, North Salt Lake turned to HA5 High Density Mineral Bond, a solution designed to protect and preserve roads longer than traditional asphalt preservation methods, to extend the life of their roads and lower the financial burden on the city and taxpayers.
Adapting to Challenges: How North Salt Lake Transformed Its Pavement Strategy
For the last several years, the city of North Salt Lake’s public works department has done significant work on its approach to pavement preservation. The refocus was driven after continuous maintenance projects strained the city’s budget and resources.
North Salt Lake’s City Engineer, Karyn Baxter, said: “In the past, the way we managed asphalt is a new road went in, and a year after it was installed, the city would come in and do a slurry seal, which was not the best treatment or the best use of our funds… Then, eight years later, we do another slurry seal, and then, eight years later, if possible, we do another slurry seal.”
“At some point, the road isn’t capable of that anymore,” Karyn continued. “Chip seals were also discouraged or disallowed in a lot of residential areas because the chips break windshields, and it’s not a popular treatment with residential roads.”
The city was stuck using treatments designed for roads in moderate condition in an attempt to extend the life of roads that were still in good to excellent condition. This gap in their pavement preservation toolbox was causing them to use the wrong treatments on the wrong roads, ultimately costing the city money.
In addition to its road projects, the city also needed to account for other public works projects that required budget and resources. However, the city’s small team, limited budget, and limited time to complete all its projects further complicated the approach to pavement preservation.
The weather conditions and topography of North Salt Lake also created unique challenges in different parts of the city. Jon, North Salt Lake’s Public Works Director, and Karyn described how the higher elevation of some parts of the city, coupled with heavy snow, lowers the traction of roads in these areas. In lower areas, the city is built closer to clay soils, which lowers the stability of roads and traps excess water. “We have every condition you can imagine in North Salt Lake,” Karyn said.
That’s what led the team to investigate HA5 High Density Mineral Bond.
Deciding with Data: How North Salt Lake Obtained Approval for HA5
HA5 High Density Mineral Bond is a product designed to extend the lifespan of asphalt by protecting it from moisture and UV intrusion. It does so through a specialized, non-ionic emulsion that is designed to provide superior protection against oxidative aging.
To get approval on the use of HA5 on the city’s roads, the public works department had to get buy-in from city officials. Jon described how his team eventually partnered with the city’s engineering department and Utah State University (USU).
“We did an entire citywide identification and classification of the current conditions of the asphalt: which ones had block cracking and which ones had longitudinal joint problems, and all kinds of different criteria.” The team then drilled further into these specific roads to determine how they were maintained. Next, it broke down the cost of maintaining each of these roads per square foot, which gave the team a better idea of its budget and resources for road maintenance every year.
With this information, the city and the university developed their street maintenance plan using the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). Finally, they took their findings back to city officials. Jon stated they got approval for HA5 High Density Mineral Bond fairly quickly after presenting their data because it was easy to see how the approach would optimize the budget and resources and extend the lifespan of the roads.
“I think people will support what they understand, so that was really key in getting the city council’s feedback and their support,” said Jon.
Optimizing Budgets and Extending Road Lifespan with HA5
“The way HA5 impacted our budget is that we’re able to treat the asphalt, and it lasts a lot longer than some other products. We do not have to go back and redo the roads that we had just redone recently. That can stretch the budget a little more, so we can get more surface done,” Jon explained.
Since implementing HA5, the city has drastically reduced its long-term maintenance expenses and better allocated its resources, all while overcoming its unique challenges, from varying weather conditions to budget limitations.
To learn more about how other cities’ public works departments have benefited from HA5 High Density Mineral Bond and improved their approach to asphalt preservation, check out our additional case studies.
Want more information? Contact Holbrook Asphalt today.
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