Pavement Management Program

Updated schedule

• Roadwork will normally be done between 7 AM-5 PM, Monday-Friday
• No parking signs and other informational signage will be posted prior to the start of the work
• Keep the roadway clear of parked vehicles while work is in progress
• Limited access will be allowed during roadwork operations
• The timeframe between milling and repaving a road can be several weeks
• Use extra caution and drive slowly when driving on a milled roadway
• Several factors such as the weather and contractor related decisions can impact the program’s schedule

We are looking forward to successful 2021 pavement rehabilitation program.  The Department of Public Works will make every attempt to limit impacts to the traveling public for the duration of the project and we appreciate your patience while this work is ongoing.

The 2024 Crack Seal Program has begun.  Please call the Public Works Office with any questions.

In the mid 2000’s nearly every main arterial road in the City was in poor condition and littered with potholes. Driving down critical New Britain streets like Farmington Avenue, Slater Road, South Street, and Corbin Avenue was a test to most any vehicle’s suspension. Some paving work would occur each year, but the investment was minimal and wasn’t performed as part of an overall comprehensive plan that included routine maintenance which maximized the investment.

This changed in 2006 when the City’s Mayor and City Council put funding in place which allowed New Britain Public Works to implement a comprehensive Pavement Management Program to manage the condition of the city streets. The funding was initially established by bonding $17 Million for the Street Infrastructure Bond.  Since that time NBPW has rehabilitated between 5 and 18 miles of road per year and over 110 miles of the City’s 165 miles of streets, and in doing so dramatically improved the overall conditions of the City streets.

Similar to most things in life keeping something in good condition requires an ongoing investment of time and money, and that is definitely true of maintaining a city’s roads (and sidewalks) which requires an investment of over $2.0 Mil. a year to maintain streets in good condition.  Beginning in FY-16 the City successfully transitioned the annual expense of the Annual Paving Program into its general operating budget which is a much more fiscally responsible approach.

New Britain follows a Pavement Management approach for the maintenance and improvement of its City streets. Pavement Management is a systematic approach for maintaining a network of roads at a pre-determined quality level, and involves the process of planning, maintaining and repairing the roads in the network.

Tasks performed as part of a Pavement Management Program typically include:

1. Inventory pavement conditions, identifying good, fair and poor pavements.

2. Assign importance ratings for road segments, based on traffic volumes, road functional class (Arterial, Collector, Local), and community demand.

3. Schedule maintenance of good roads to keep them in good condition.

4. Schedule repairs of poor and fair pavements as available funding allows.

Pavement Management Programs are typically based on assigning roads a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) value. A PCI value is a numerical value between 0 and 100 that is used to indicate the general condition of a pavement. A PCI value of 100 represents the best possible condition and a value of 0 represents the worst possible condition. PCI values are typically assigned based on a visual survey that considers the various types of pavement distresses along with some other factors.  Once a PCI is established for a road basic determinations can be made for the level of work or maintenance required for that road.

Over time, following a Pavement Management approach to maintaining City Streets lessens the investment required to keep roads in good condition as it costs significantly less to keep a road in good condition by doing routine maintenance than it does to do minimal or no annual maintenance and let the condition of a road deteriorate to the point that major repair work is required.