Burlington' Engineering Department Gears up for a Busy Construction Season

Town Engineer Tom Hayes sat down with Burlington Patch last week to review projects lined up for the season ahead.  This year the department is tackling several projects including water main upgrades and road paving roadways. The office is also responsible for maintaining traffic and street lights and monitoring gas line breaks.

The are for the purpose of improving both pressure and quality of water. The average resident will not notice any change.

“We’re the stealth department,” joked Hayes. “No one really notices us until something breaks.”

Joking aside, Hayes explained that water pressure is very important to insure that emergency vehicles have adequate pressure in case of a crisis.

“Burlington is very proactive in terms of infrastructure upgrades,” said Hayes.

According to Hayes, the town’s water mains are 40-50 years old and thus main breaks are occurring with greater frequency.  The engineering department tracks breaks and uses a model to determine where upgrades are most needed. This year the biggest water main project will be along Francis Wyman Road where the town will install larger and superior quality piping. Another smaller upgrade will be installed on County Road where two blowouts occurred in the last year.

Hayes explained that while road closures may occur during the day, the crews will backfill as they move down the pipe’s path and the streets will reopen at night.

Every year the engineering department evaluates the town’s streets for paving needs. Burlington has nearly 100 miles of public roadways and Hayes’ department surveys approximately 60 miles of road each year. The roads are classified as main, secondary, local or dead-end. Each road is examined and graded.

“Pavement starts to fail the moment you put it down,” explained Hayes. “But with careful management, we can extend the life of our roadways by three to seven years. That is our goal.”

Hayes explained that roads are not paved on a “worst-first” basis.  The department is allocated approximately $1 million to $1.5 million for paving projects every two years.  It is part of Hayes’ job to get the most for each paving dollar.

“We do a lot of crack-sealing and micro-paving to keep our roads in good condition,” said Hayes. “This kind of proactive maintenance allows us to work on more streets than if we concentrated only on the streets that had failed.”

The department does keep a list of “failed” roadways which will eventually need to be dug and re-paved.  These projects are very expensive and can eat up the budget quickly.

Burlington’s Engineering Department took over the maintenance of the town’s traffic and street lights a few years ago. Hayes explained that previously no one department was in charge, and costs were out of control. Since Hayes’ department took over responsibility, the yearly expenditure has dropped from $80,000 to $36,000 annually.

“We keep tabs on the contractor and we plan ahead,” said Hayes. ”When we do roadwork, we do the traffic lights at the same time.”

Hayes also credits good communications with with helping to maintain the town’s 26 traffic lights.

The engineering team also tracks gas leaks and coordinates with National Grid to make sure that cluster areas are addressed and paving projects are performed after gas line work is completed.

Hayes explained that the department runs on a seasonal schedule.  Construction work is generally performed between June and September.  October and November are devoted to surveying. December through February is spent in the design phase which is followed by the bidding process. Bidding is normally completed by May so work can begin once again.

For more information, visit the Town’s engineering web site at http://www.burlington.org/engineering/engineering.htm.