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Concrete Solutions For Unpaved Roads

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - For more than two hours Tuesday, county commissioners talked about how to pave and maintain Pasco County roads for less money.

Then, County Engineer James Widman gave them the bottom line.

"The problem here is affordability," Widman said at a workshop at the West Pasco Government Center. "If you want to get a better cost you need to finance projects over a longer time."

County officials pay about $13,000 a lane mile to maintain more than 512 miles of dirt roads and close to $6,000 a lane mile on paved roads, Assistant County Administrator Bipin Parikh said.

County commissioners have authorized $250,000 on emergency fixes for dirt roads during the past eight years.

The board has come together several times to tackle the dirt road issue at the request of Commissioner Pat Mulieri, whose central Pasco district is second to Commission chairman Ted Schrader's east Pasco territory for the number and miles of dirt roads.

Mulieri by far makes the most requests for emergency road fixes.

County officials have tried paving assessments - voluntary and forced - as well as discounts to residents as an incentive to pave their roads.

They also have set aside money each year for emergency paving.

It never seems to be enough.

"You need to give people a longer time to repay it," Widman said Tuesday. "That, to me, is the solution."

Commissioner Michael Cox, a financial planner with Morgan Stanley, suggested county officials take out a bond to pay for road projects and have residents pay over time.

Management and Budget Director Michael Nurrenbrock said that would be a good way to keep a steady stream of money coming back into the county coffers.

Two companies, at Mulieri's invitation, gave presentations on alternative paving methods.

Representatives of Zephyrhills-based E.J. Breneman LP suggested recycling old asphalt and combining it with an adhesive material, such as concrete, to repave roads in bad repair.

A representative from Tomorrow Chemicals suggested sealing roads with a special dust-control material.

The board asked each of the companies to provide free samples of their work on county roads.

Mulieri said she wants residents to have options.

"Some people shop at Kmart. Some shop at Dillard's. Give them a choice," she said, adding later, "I don't want to see 20 years down the road we still have 500 miles of unpaved roads."

Commissioners also were slated to discuss priorities for the upcoming year. That conversation was, however, upstaged by impending budget cuts.

A constitutional amendment approved by voters Jan. 29 will give bigger tax breaks to many homeowners but require commissioners to cut about $16 million from accounts supported by property taxes.

"When we had this set up, it was before the vote last Tuesday," Commissioner Ann Hildebrand said. "I think we need to get our financial house in order before we move forward."

The board plans to schedule workshops in east, west and central Pasco to find out how residents want their tax dollars spent.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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