Second Round of Paving this Fiscal Year to Cover More than Six Miles of Roadway

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GALLATIN – The Gallatin City Council has approved a second batch of streets to be paved this spring. After bidding the project, the Gallatin Engineering Department awarded $875,863 to Rogers Group to mill and pave nine additional streets in the City. Within 30 days, Rogers Group will submit their schedule to start milling and paving streets that were approved by the Gallatin City Council. Paving should be completed within 30-45 working days depending on weather conditions and the contractor’s schedule.

In the fall of 2021, the City of Gallatin Engineering Department completed paving the first 2.5 miles of roadway including Cairo Road, North Locust, Village Green Crossing, Village Green Drive, Saint Blaise Road, Big Station Camp Boulevard, Hull Circle, Small Street and Chambers Circle.

The next 6.17 miles of streets to be paved this spring include Big Station Camp Boulevard (2 sections around SR-386 and Nashville Pike), Bison Trail (in front of Station Camp High School), Cages Bend, Airport Road (from Hartsville Pike for about 2400 feet north), Gibbs Lane, Graystone Drive, Woodcrest Drive (Airport Road to Meadowview), Neals Lane, and Fairground Road.

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Asphalt contractors are limited to weather and asphalt temperatures to achieve good compaction and desired paving density. Ideal paving temperatures range from 50° F to 90° F, with asphalt mix temperatures of 250-300° F. Asphalt repair usually involves milling, or grinding off the surface of the existing road, to scale it back to a proper height. Milling also gives the new asphalt a surface texture to adhere to. Historically, the city paves approximately 5-10 miles each year.

“The life of a newly paved road is approximately 15-20 years. We do our best to prioritize pavement capital projects based on the road’s condition, approved budget and the will of the City Council” said Ihab Habib, Project Engineer for the City of Gallatin. “Now that temperatures are more moderate, we will start with this list of roads and will continue paving projects through the summer months.”

Last year, Gallatin evaluated the condition of roads with a hi-tech vehicle that collects data on every street in Gallatin using 3D technology. With nine cameras and laser scanners, the vehicle uses Global Information Systems (GIS) to map pavement issues such as potholes, cracks and other failures. City engineers then rate streets using a “Pavement Condition Index,” a numerical index between 0 and 100, that indicates the condition of a specific section of road. Those streets with the lowest scores are presented to the City Council for their approval to repair.

The City of Gallatin has two departments (Engineering and Public Works) that administer the construction and maintenance of city streets. Engineering is responsible for the major capital projects including road construction, widening, and paving. Public Works conducts minor road repairs, such as filling pot holes, cold patching and other measures for temporary repair.

For a list of City of Gallatin street projects, visit https://www.gallatintn.gov/194/Projects or contact the city’s Engineering Department for more information at 615-451-5965.