The City of Bloomington Street Division is conducting a citywide assessment that will determine the current condition of streets, sidepaths, sidewalks, and accessible curb ramps. This project builds upon a similar effort that was last performed in 2017 by Public Works with the support of the Office of Innovation and will update the now five-year-old condition data for these important transportation assets.
The Board of Public Works approved a contract with the Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) Company in September of 2021 to undertake this project. Condition data and a variety of associated infrastructure metrics will be collected via a crew in a vehicle that incorporates Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology. LIDAR is more time-efficient than visual data collection alone and allows for real-time data collection while providing more uniform and accurate reporting.
The collected street pavement data will be utilized to update the current Pavement Condition Index (PCI) ratings for all of the City’s 237 miles of public use streets. Staff will use these updated PCI ratings to prepare targeted improvements during the development of the City’s annual paving schedule. An updated asset condition picture for the 29 miles of sidepaths and 236-mile-long sidewalk network, plus associated Americans with Disability Act compliant accessible curb ramps, is another major component of this project.
“Our City crews work hard every day taking care of the hundreds of miles of streets, sidepaths, and sidewalks in our community,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “This new technology will allow us to provide even greater service in the future. I greatly appreciate our Department of Public Works staff and all they do to keep our city running smoothly and our residents moving safely.”
This data will be utilized to directly assist in administering the City’s Sidewalk Repair Assistance Program, as well as to better target maintenance activities, identify areas of concern, and provide budget planning and direction for future non-motorized infrastructure improvements.
“We’re very excited to be using cutting-edge technologies that will provide us with a fresh look at the current conditions of our streets, sidepaths, sidewalks, and accessible curb ramps,” said Joe VanDeventer, Director of Street Operations. “Receiving this updated condition data is simply a game-changer. It really allows us to better plan and budget for maintenance and future improvements for both our motorized and non-motorized transportation networks.”
The project began in late April and data collection is on schedule to be completed by the end of September. A finalized condition data summary and statistics report is expected to be delivered by IMS in early 2023. The finished report will be available to the public on the B-Clear Open Data Portal, along with a host of other Street Division operations data and metrics, which can be found at data.bloomington.in.gov/.
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