Gilbert: City Should Start Creating Strategic Plans For Paving Needs

Cookeville City Council Member Chad Gilbert wants the city to start planning ahead when it comes to paving projects.

Gilbert said the city should start creating a plan that stretches five years or more in order to better prioritize projects. He said there is technology and resources available to help calculate the asphalt’s lifespan on different roads to better aid prioritization.

“We have a finite amount of roads right now and that may change as new roads are built and it will change as maybe annexation or new developments come along,” Gilbert said. “But it’s measurable and anything that’s measurable, I think you can apply a little rational planning to it and get way ahead of this thing.”

Gilbert said in preparing for paving projects on a measurable basis, it can help utility departments and the planning department be more efficient in its work. He said road upkeep is important to the city because it is something that every citizen interfaces with on a daily basis.

Gilbert said not every road is created equally, so it is not as simple as deciding to pave a certain number of roads each year. He said the city will have to develop a plan that takes into consideration traffic, condition, and need when making paving plans.

“It may show itself that we do need to be more aggressive in the quantity we’re paving, but the solution to this kind of presents itself in the idea that we’re floating here, that if it shows us that we have something to plan towards,” Gilbert said. “The folks who bid on our paving jobs have something to plan towards, they know the window of time and we’re not ask reactionary to their availability.”

Gilbert said he would like to conduct a study to explore the best option for making a paving plan in the future.