#SugarHill Discussion of Sugar Hill’s Roads Sugar Hill Select board Meeting November 4, 2024 Overview The Select board asked Doug Glover, Carl Martland, and Brian Beaulieu to come to their meeting on November 4th to discuss issues related to gravel roads and the development of a long-term plan for maintaining and improving the town’s roads. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that the town and the Road Committee would assemble data about road maintenance that would be helpful in preparing such a plan. The Road Committee will use this data to prepare materials for another discussion of long range plans at a meeting in January. The goal is to have a preliminary plan available for discussion prior to the 2025 Town Meeting. This document summarizes the discussion at the meeting and identifies the next steps. It also includes some further thoughts on factors related to converting gravel roads to paved roads and a note indicating the possibility of obtaining cost parameters from North Country Council. Purpose of the Meeting The Selectboard started the discussion by raising three basic questions: 1. What do we do about our gravel roads? The frequent freeze/thaw cycles last winter led to complaints during multiple “mud seasons” and added expense in doing what was necessary to maintain our gravel roads. Issues related to accessibility and safety are likely to increase for gravel roads if, as expected, we continue to see warmer winters. 2. Why are things the way they are? Why have some gravel roads been paved and some paved roads returned to gravel? How do we maintain paved roads, e.g. frequency of surfacing, type of surfacing, amount of surfacing to be done each year? How much should we spending on road maintenance? How do we set priorities? 3. Can we develop a long-range plan for maintaining and improving our roads? Current Road Conditions The town has received federal reimbursement from FEMA for expenses incurred in repairing roads heavily damaged by major storms. Most recently, a check for $26,000 was received related to damage caused by last year’s big storm just before Christmas. This money has been used to do additional road work this year, and any future reimbursements will also be used for highway work. Carl said that he had just completed his annual documentation of pavement condition and ride quality for the town’s 23 miles of paved roads. Because of the added paving done this year, the overall condition of roads is by far the best it has been in at least 12 years. Gravel Roads Maintaining Gravel Roads Gravel roads are horrible in the spring, and they are difficult to plow in the winter, especially when a snow storm follows a warm period when the roads are rutted. During mud season, it will be necessary to add gravel to the worst locations, and in the spring, all of the gravel roads need to be graded. These maintenance tasks are not difficult, as they can be done by the Highway Department using town equipment, but they are an annual cost that will increase if winters continue to get warmer. Spraying Gravel Roads Various types of spray have been used to create a film on the surface of gravel roads that may make the roads appear to be paved. However, this is a thin film that will easily be cracked during the winter thaws, which results in an uneven roadway that is difficult to plow. Since the surface cracks, water can seep into the subgrade, which would not happen if the road were paved. Blake Road Doug explained that Blake Road was sprayed in the past, which is why some believed that it had been paved. Since the spray that had been used was found to be toxic, he tried using a new mix, but that did not prove effective. Some sections of this road were very bad, and Doug was concerned about safety. Therefore, he decided to grind the entire road and add gravel where needed in order to provide a uniform surface that could eventually be paved. However, there has not been enough in the Highway Department’s Budget to do the work. Based upon current costs of asphalt ($115/ton), he estimated that it would cost $300,000 to do the work to prepare and then to pave this 1.2-mile gravel section of Blake Road. Converting Gravel Roads to Paved Roads [this section expands upon the discussion at the SB meeting] Whether or not it makes sense to pave a gravel road depends upon various factors: **Costs:** o The annual maintenance costs of maintaining the gravel road, including grading, responding to mud season, and snow plowing. o The initial cost of grading, grinding and ditching that would be required to prepare the road for paving. o The frequency and cost of paving. **Role of road**: o Dead-end, only a few local residents (e.g. Post Road, Valley Vista Road) o Dead-end with many local residents (Streeter Pond Extension) o Through road primarily for residents living on that road (e.g. Grandview) o Through for other Sugar Hill residents as well as residents living on that road e.g, (Blake Road) o Through road connecting Sugar Hill to neighboring towns (e.g. the end of Pearl Lake Road, which continues as a gravel road for a couple of miles in Lisbon) **Traffic** o Type of vehicle (cars, trucks, school bus) o Extent of local traffic (to or from locations on the gravel road) o Through traffic • Options for partial paving o Extend the portion paved on a dead-end road o Reduce the gravel portions in the middle of a through road **Budget priorities** Franconia Road Committee Franconia has recently created a road committee, which is very interested in meeting with us to discuss road maintenance. They are particularly interested in gravel roads, since they have a much higher percentage of such roads than we do. Doug said that their roads typically have a much better sub-grade than ours, so that their gravel roads don’t deteriorate as rapidly as ours. However, Franconia may have let some roads (e.g. Toad Hill Road) revert to gravel, thereby resulting in major problems with last winter’s freeze/thaw conditions. Paving Options Cold Mix vs. Hot Top There are two basic options for the type of asphalt used to pave roads: • Cold mix: this can be prepared and that laid by the Highway Department using their own equipment. This mix doesn’t harden, so that it is susceptible to cracking in the winter. However, when the weather warms up, normal traffic will in effect knead the surface and eliminate the cracks. However, the cracking may let in moisture and that may lead to rutting, especially if there is heavy truck traffic. • Hot top: hot top is a mix that will harden better and last longer than cold mix, because it has smaller particles. Hot mix must be transported from a supplier in Lancaster or Gorham, and it must be applied within a few hours. This work requires a contractor that has the specialized equipment. The two types can be mixed. For example, first lay an inch or two of cold mix, then add a sealing layer of an inch of hot top. In prior years, cold mix was much cheaper than hot top, so that is what was used in many places. Now, the cost differential is smaller, so we are using more hot top. Thickness Roads can be given a thin layer of cold mix as a “shim coat” that will provide a smooth surface for a short time. Shim coats can be applied regularly at intervals of a few years, or they can be laid in expectation of adding another layer of hot mix. Grinding Doug described how a section of Center District Road was repaved after first grinding the existing pavement and adding gravel to provide a better base for the asphalt. This is something that could be done on other roads that would extend the life the pavement and reduce future paving costs. Restricting Truck Traffic Is it possible to restrict truck traffic on Streeter Pond Road? The SB apparently has the ability to do so, but there could be a difficulty related to the conditions for accepting state funds for maintaining our roads. The North Country Council’s Transportation Plan for the North Country includes a recommendation that businesses that generate a large amount of truck traffic should be located on or close to the major truck routes that NH DOT has identified. This recommendation would certainly support limiting town roads to local truck traffic. Developing a Plan Goal Develop a preliminary plan that can be presented to taxpayers at or before Town Meeting next year. The basic idea is to be able to show a couple of options for upgrading our roads over that next ten years. This plan would include options for such things as: • Converting some or most of our gravel roads to paved roads. • Ensuring that the budget has enough funds for paving to ensure that roads do not reach excessively poor conditions. • Providing additional budget for upgrading portions of our roads via grinding Data Requirements We need to have estimates of the various costs related to maintaining both gravel and paved roads. Jennifer said that she has compiled the costs of recent projects and go back ten years to obtain data from QuickBooks. Doug said that he has a map showing what paving work has been done in recent years. Carl said that he has data going back to 2012 that documents roads conditions for each 0.1-mile segment of paved road. The Roads Committee can use this information to develop some examples of the cost of major road projects and the life of such projects. We will also need information about the annual costs (labor, equipment and materials) for maintaining gravel roads. One excellent source of information would be the applications to FEMA for reimbursement of expenses related to: • The complete reconstruction of Lafayette Road in 2019 • The extensive work on Carpenter Road in 2029 • The repair and improvement of the section of Grandview Road that was washed out recently The Road Committee could use copies of these applications to develop case studies showing what is needed for a variety of road maintenance activities. Methodology Carl said that he has had long experience concerning the costs of maintaining railroad rights-of-way. While the technologies and traffic are vastly different, the same methodology can be used to evaluate maintenance options and develop long-term plans for upgrading the transport network. The Road Committee will use the data provided by Jennifer and Doug to get ball-park estimates of the costs and frequency of paving roads and the annual costs of maintain gravel roads. We can the estimates of cost and frequency of maintenance events to predict when such events will be needed and how much it will cost. Then we can consider adding additional work that could be done with additional funds, such as converting gravel roads or grinding and rebuilding some paved roads. [At a meeting of North Country Council’s Transportation Advisory Committee on November 6th, I described what we are doing and invited other towns to share ideas and concepts. Jordan Pike of HEB Engineering has a spreadsheet that he uses to estimate costs of road construction and maintenance for NCC, including his estimate of the costs of improving drainage and sidewalks in Sugar Hill. He said he would provide information concerning costs and material requirements that I think could be very helpful in developing our plan.] Next Meeting The Road Committee will meet again with the SB in January to discuss progress and to prepare for Town Meeting. --------------------------------------------------------------- Prepared by Carl Martland, November 8, 2024