At the upcoming Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) meeting, commissioners will discuss a proposal to implement fees on companies or individuals who want to cut into the city’s recently paved roadways to support ongoing road preservation efforts.
Under the proposed fees aimed at protecting streets from premature deterioration, costs could be as much as $60 per square foot to cut into newly paved roads — and a lot more for those who do it without authorization.
The proposed policy would cover cut or excavation requests on city-maintained roads that have been constructed or resurfaced within the previous five years.
Charges would be based on the size of the excavation, the age of the pavement and the type of road improvement.
Under the proposal, the city would establish a base pavement degradation fee of $15 per square foot, with higher rates for newer roads.
Fees for cutting into recently constructed or reconstructed pavement would range from $24 to $60 per square foot, decreasing as the road ages.
No degradation fee would apply once the pavement reaches five years old. The charges would be separate from existing permit fees and the cost of repairing damaged pavement.
According to Carson City Public Works Director Darren Schulz, cutting into paved roads weakens the pavement and accelerates deterioration, shortening the useful life of streets and increasing future maintenance costs.
The city maintains approximately 288 miles of paved roads, according to the staff report, and currently charges $3.91 per square foot when municipal crews patch pavement damaged by excavation.
However, the actual cost of those repairs are now estimated at approximately $15 per square foot.
The fee is intended to “recover the cost of accelerated pavement deterioration, account for the cost of repairing and repatching the road using City forces before the next capital project, and deter cutting new pavement, thereby protecting the City’s roadway asset,” according to the staff report.
The policy would also prohibit nonemergency pavement cuts for two years after road construction or reconstruction and for one year following pavement preservation work. Emergency excavations would still be permitted, although the fees would apply.
The city’s public works director to waive or reduce fees under certain circumstances. Unauthorized pavement cuts could result in charges equal to 150% of the applicable degradation fee.
Officials say the additional costs would encourage utility companies, developers and contractors to coordinate excavation work with scheduled roadway projects rather than digging into streets shortly after they have been paved.
Similar pavement-cutting policies are already in place in Reno and Clark County, according to the staff report.
You can read the full agenda below:
