COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

DATE:

March 29, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

April 10, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

David J. Clarke, Acting Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Chip Sealing for County Roads

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution:

(1)

waiving the competitive procurement processes for the purchase of aggregate and paving oil, and for the rental of a chip spreading machine, and

(2)

authorizing a pilot program to apply chip seals to County roads.

Vision Alignment

Commitment: Ensure basic health and safety of all.

Goal 7: Maintain and enhance the public safety of all residents and visitors.

The chip-seal pilot program will improve the condition of the roads for the benefit of the public while maintaining the existing neighborhood quality of the area.

Background

The County currently maintains a 316-mile roadway system.

Typically, the County maintains roads by using “in-house” forces when it is practical to do so, and by contracting with private contractors when the job is beyond the County’s in-house capabilities. In either case, the primary material that is used in road maintenance is paving asphalt, which is an oil based product. In recent years, the price of paving asphalt has skyrocketed, rising from about $150 per ton in 2003, to over $360 per ton in 2006. The cost of private contractor labor also increased dramatically during this period of time. The combination of large increases in material costs and labor costs have resulted in an increase in the CALTRANS road construction cost index of over 175% in three years.

At the same time that costs are rising, revenues for the maintenance of County roads have declined. The primary source of revenue for maintenance activities is the gas tax. The amount of revenue that the Road Fund received from gas taxes declined from $13.3 Million in FY 2000-01 to $11.9 Million in FY 2005-06. While the passage of Propositions 1A and 1B will have positive impacts on the Road Fund, these additional revenues for our local roads will likely not keep up with on-going inflation.

Because of these factors, the County Roads Division finds itself in the unenviable position of having to do more with less at higher costs. To respond to this challenge, we are proposing a pilot program to do cost-effective chip seal pavement treatments of County roads with in-house staff. This program will supplement our current efforts of using Public Works contracts to perform slurry and cape seals, overlays and road reconstructions.

Discussion

Preventive Maintenance is a strategy of cost-effective treatments to a roadway that retards future deterioration and maintains or improves the functional condition of the roadway. Examples include slurry, chip and cape seals, overlays and in-place recycling of pavements.

Most counties and large cities use “in-house” chip seal programs as the backbone of their preventative maintenance programs, because it is generally believed to be the most cost effective means to extend the useful life of existing pavements. Santa Clara County, Contra Costa County, Monterey County and the City of San Jose are all examples of nearby agencies that have large-scale “in-house” chip seal programs.

Ideally, in order to have the most cost-effective program, County roads would be treated on average once every 7 years. This would require the treatment of about 45 miles of road every year. We are proposing to implement a small pilot program during the summer of 2007, to apply chip seals using in-house staff to approximately 20 miles of road. Roads being proposed for this treatment are entirely on the coast side, and are listed on Exhibit 1. The criteria for selecting these roads include: Pavements that are in Poor to Fair condition, no curbs or gutters, long, uninterrupted roads, roads in a single geographical area, and roads in non-residential areas.

Chip sealing operations could begin as early as July or as late as October, 2007, depending on the availability of equipment. It is expected that the entire 20 miles of planned treatment can be completed in approximately two weeks. One advantage of chip seals is that automobiles can use the road immediately after the application without needing to wait for the treatment to “cure” as is required for overlays, cape and slurry seals. The operation will include “in-house” staff to prepare and place the chip seal. Purchase agreements will be needed with material supply firms to provide the aggregate and paving oil to the job sites. Staff is also exploring possible arrangements with other counties and cities to borrow/rent the chip spreading machine. If these do not materialize, staff will make arrangements to rent a chip spreader machine. In-house staff will also do sweeping and re-striping of the roadway.

We recommend that the Board find it is in the County’s best interest to waive the competitive procurement processes for the necessary contracts as it is in the County’s best interest to try the program this summer to see if will be feasible on a long-term basis.

Graniterock is the sole vendor in the area for the gradation and quality of aggregate that is needed for chip seals. Graniterock is also the vendor for the Santa Clara County and City of San Jose chip seal programs, and they have agreed to extend the same low prices that the County and City negotiated for their large programs. It is anticipated that this agreement will be executed in an amount not to exceed $100,000.

Reed and Graham is currently the supplier of paving oil for both Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose, and they have agreed to provide the paving oil at the same favorable price that the County and City negotiated for their large programs. Reed and Graham would provide the paving oil at the site and use their advanced technology spray equipment to apply it to the roads. We believe that their expertise will be invaluable for getting our program going in the right direction. It is anticipated that this agreement will be executed in an amount not to exceed $100,000.

Finally, we are recommending that an agreement be executed for the rental of a chip spreader machine. We are currently talking to Solano County and hope to wrap up the negotiations for the use of their machine in the near future. It is anticipated that this agreement will be executed in an amount not to exceed $50,000.

Community Impact

Long Term Chip seal programs have a significant positive benefit to the community by improving the cost-effectiveness of pavement maintenance and providing roads with fewer potholes and pavement failures. When used for many years, chip sealed streets also eventually build up a substantial pavement section, making them able to handle heavier traffic loads without distress. Chip seal programs are very cost-effective but they do have some short-term impacts. When the chips are initially applied, some loose chips can remain unswept and concerns are often expressed by motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Chip sealed streets are also slightly rougher and slightly noisier than streets that have been overlaid or cape sealed. Because of these factors, we are initially recommending roads that are in non-residential areas. To mitigate the concerns staff will be conducting an extensive public outreach program within the affected communities. We intend to provide advanced notification to all area residents through fliers, mailers and door hangers. We intend to notify residents through public service announcements in the Coastsider and we will include maps of affected streets on our web sites and in libraries and post offices. During operations, we will have extensive traffic control and flaggers. We will place appropriate warning barricades for reduced speeds while there are loose chips. We will also have a “hot line” available for residents with questions and concerns. We will monitor all of these activities on a continuing basis and will make changes based on any feedback we receive.

After the completion of the pilot, we will evaluate and advise your Board if the project appears feasible on a long-term basis, in which case the Department would conduct a full RFP process for the oil for next year.

Resolutions have been approved as to form by County Counsel

Fiscal Impact

There is no cost increase to any fund administered by the County if your Board adopts the resolution as recommended. There is no impact to the General Fund. Funding for the pilot program will come from existing road funds, with the majority of the expenditures occurring in FY 2007-2008. The cost of the pilot project is estimated at $500,000 to do chip seals on 20 miles. Approximately 1/2 of this amount is for the cost of materials and the rental of equipment. The other 1/2 of the cost will pay for in-house labor. This equates to an estimated cost of about $25,000 per lane mile, and can be compared very favorably to the estimated cost of $400,000 per mile for contractual road resurfacing projects. There will need to be a minor reprioritizing of funds currently allocated to contract maintenance and other road maintenance activities. Ultimately it is believed that the in house chip seal program will lower the overall cost per maintained mile for the County.