Everyone wishes their streets were in perfect, pristine condition.
But it’s a head scratching task for staff and the Hudson Common Council to figure out where to prioritize funding each year.
The Common Council met for a special meeting on Monday, May 8, to hear from City Engineer Erin Anderson on procedures that help to establish road repair priorities.
There are a number of things staff use to determine the neediness of projects throughout the community.
One consideration is the pavement condition, measured by what is called a PASER rating. The 1 through 10 scale determines how good (10) the condition of a road is in or how poor (1) the condition of the road is.
Anderson gave examples for 1 through 10 ratings.
A rating of 9 or 10, being the best condition, can be observed on Hillcrest Drive. No maintenance is needed.
A middle of the road (pun intended) rating of a 4 or 5 can be observed on Rock Street and Spruce Drive. Both could use minor repairs.
A very poor rating of 2, in need of reconstruction, is River Ridge Road. Or even worse off, at a rating of 1 is Bridge Street.
The average street rating of Hudson streets is about a 5.
Staff also looks at traffic, safety age, utilities, sidewalks, trails and more.
Some of the projects that have already been approved and bonded for for 2024 include:
Commercial Street.
Street maintenance.
Green Street.
Sidewalk and curb project.
Alley reconstruction.
Trail maintenance.
$2.15 million has been approved for projects between 2023-24.
Between 2025 and 2027, other planned projects include:
11th Street (Wisconsin to Coulee).
Heggen Street bridge.
Trail maintenance.
Carmichael Road (I-94 to Riverview).
Laurel Avenue (11th to 17th).
Sidewalk and curb project.
Alley reconstruction.
Locust Street (1st to 3rd).
Over the next few years, the council plans to steadily increase funding.
2025-26 will be allocated $2.65 million and 2027 and beyond is looking at just over $3 million.
“The hard part with some of them is their more than we do for the whole year,” City Administrator Aaron Reeves said about the cost of the ongoing list of street repair projects. Whenever the Common Council decides to repair Ninth Street, he used as an example, additional bonding will likely be required due to the size of the project.
“Nothing works in a bubble here,” Alderman Mike Kennedy said. “You touch one thing and it affects 17 other things. I think our staff has done a great job.”
Staff are on the ground determining the PASER ratings for roads around town each year. They are monitoring changes.
“We should let our staff bring forward these recommendations,” Reeves said about the way priority projects are decided. Council can make adjustments, but staff are in the trenches of all of the procedures and considerations involved in determining repair needs.
(1) comment
9th St from Vine St north needs to be done soon - don't see it on this report. Also 9th St south to the top of the hill.
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