Pavement survey van available to public as ballot measures loom

Carson City residents considering two General Election ballot measures to fund local roads will have a chance to visit a critical piece of technology used to determine pavement condition.

Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) officials announced Wednesday they will be hosting a “static showing” of the van to be used by Applied Pavement Technology (AP Tech) in a pavement survey this fall in Carson City and Douglas County.

“If you are interested in the process of how CAMPO updates the PCI (Pavement Condition Index) or how the pavement survey will be conducted, CAMPO will be doing a static showing of the van to any interested citizens on Nov. 1 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Carson City Public Works parking lot at 3505 Butti Way,” CAMPO said in a news release.

On Oct. 9, after CAMPO members approved an agreement with Douglas County, they unanimously approved a contract with AP Tech for $150,286 to survey 276 centerline miles of roadway in Carson and 176 in Douglas County (excluding the Tahoe Basin).

The project is expected to be completed by spring with separate reports issued for Douglas and Carson.

“It (the van) collects right of way imagery and also two cameras essentially that take intensity and range images facing downward, and we will be able to map out all the distresses per the ASTM D6433 (American Society for Testing and Materials),” Luis Sibaja, project manager for AP Tech, said at the Oct. 9 hearing.

In the Oct. 23 news release, Sibaja said: “Pavement is one of the most valuable assets an agency maintains, and AP Tech is proud to help CAMPO proactively protect it.”

Residents can expect to see the van working from Oct. 29 to Nov. 8.

“The AP Tech van will follow all posted speed limits and traffic signs and display a warning beacon so drivers and pedestrians will not encounter any driving impacts,” the release said. “The data collection project schedule is subject to change due to the timing of other utility projects, weather, special events and any unforeseen circumstances.”

Carson City has used Applied Pavement Technology in the past. The company conducted the 2022 pavement analysis that found regional roads in the city in satisfactory condition, on average, but local roads, the neighborhood streets that aren’t arterials or collectors, in fair condition approaching poor condition.

“This data will be used to identify the streets most in need of repairs and develop a multi-year paving and rehabilitation plan,” the release said.

The current PCI map of Carson City can be found online: https://www.carson.org/government/departments-g-z/public-works/transportation/documents.

For several years, city leaders explored funding options for local roads, those neighborhood streets that don’t qualify for federal grants like regional arterials or collectors. In April, the Carson City Board of Supervisors approved two tax proposals for the Nov. 5 ballot.

The first proposal, Carson City Question No. 1, is a .25 percent sales tax that could raise an estimated $4.5 million a year specifically for local roads.

Carson City Question No. 2, the supplemental government services tax, would levy 1 cent of every dollar for up to 35 percent of a vehicle’s value, and the amount would decrease with depreciation. It is estimated to generate up to $2.5 million a year for local roads.

More information about road funding in Carson: https://www.carson.org/government/departments-g-z/public-works/preserve-carson-city-roads.

For information about AP Tech data collection, call Kelly Norman, CAMPO project manager, at 775-283-7525 or Sibaja at 775-762-4734.