City’s paving budget won’t be enough to cover all roads on list

The city’s $7 million paving budget won’t cover the entirety of the 28.28 miles the Hot Springs Board of Directors authorized last month.

Assistant City Engineer Mike Hill told the board Tuesday the per-mile cost to overlay a 24-foot wide section increased to $328,828, a roughly 25% rise from the price City Manager Bill Burrough said the city paid under its 2023 contract with McGeorge Contracting Co.

This year’s paving list included more than 90 roads in the city’s 300-mile inventory.

“Our prices did go up considerably from the prior year,” Burrough, explaining that the increase will shorten the paving list adopted last month to fewer than 22 miles, told the board.

Hill said McGeorge subsidiary Cranford Construction submitted the only bid for this year’s paving and milling projects. He said the company attributed the cost increase to higher rock prices. A resolution authorizing the contract is on the consent agenda the board will consider at its April 16 business meeting.

Cranford has yet to complete the city’s 2023 paving list. Hill said four streets and two parking lots are still outstanding.

“They expect to be done in a few weeks,” he told the board.

He said this year’s contract included a 5% discount if the list isn’t completed by Dec 31. Burrough told the board in September that contracts the Arkansas Department of Transportation awarded McGeorge to resurface state-maintained roads in the area, widen Highway 270 west and extend the King Expressway delayed the city’s work.

“Cranford said we use city work to fill in between ArDOT jobs,” Hill told the board. “They will use us to fill in. They are trying to bring in another paving group They’re having a hard time finding employees. … He said he is having trouble finding people who can pass the drug test, and people who’ll show up. If you keep throwing new people in there, it’s hard to get

a crew going.”

The state, city and county have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars of area road contracts in recent years. Funding that supported the projects may not be available in the future, making Cranford reluctant to expand its payroll, Hill said.

The 0.625% countywide sales tax voters reauthorized in February 2022 sunsets in three years. It provided $5.62 million for the city’s 2024 paving program. The proceeds will have funded more than 40 miles of overlays in 2023 and 2024 when Cranford completes this year’s list. The city paved 6 to 7 miles a year prior to voters pledging the tax proceeds to the replacement and repair of locally-maintained roads.

The tax money also supports $16 million in road and bridge improvements the county budgeted for its 700-mile network.

According to the county court order awarding bids for Garland County’s 2024 paving program, the $104 per ton bid Cranford submitted for patching asphalt was 7% more than its 2023 contract. The $105 bid for three-eighths inch patching asphalt was 8% more than the 2023 price.

Cranford was the lone bidder each year.

Spa Construction outbid Cranford for in-place asphalt, quoting a $163.90 price per ton compared to the latter’s $182.70 bid. Spa City’s bid was 13% higher than last year. The $16,500 per day Cranford bid for milling was 38% higher than its 2023 price. It was the lone bidder each year.

Hill said milling, or removing part of the existing road surface, contributes to the city paying more than the county. The city has more streets in its inventory with curb and gutters. Paving over the existing surface would eventually put the surface on the same grade as the curb and gutter inlet.

Hill said Spa City doesn’t do milling work.

“We can’t just go over the top of everything,” he told the board. “Cranford is the only one putting in for it. They have the plants in Hot Springs. If someone comes in they’re either going to have to truck their asphalt out of Little Rock, or they have to buy from Cranford.”

The following roads were on the primary paving list the board adopted March 5:

Alta Vista Street — From Files Road to cul-de-sac.

Arthur Street — From Bellaire to Marylou.

Aspen Street — From Holly to Glade.

Bafanridge Street — From Malvern to Lamott.

Bafanwood Street — From Bafanridge to Bafanridge.

Bluesage Court — From Quail Creek to cul-de-sac.

Bridge Street — From Central to Malvern.

Bryan Paul Street — From Dottie to Dino.

Busche Street — From Cones to Eddiemee.

Castleton Street — From Eddiemee to Ridgeway.

Centerwood Street — From Bafanwood to Lamott.

Chattanooga Street — From Cypressvale to Honeycutt.

Clay Street — From William to Wilmot.

Clearview Loop — From Indian Hills to Indian Hills.

Coomber Street — From Farnsworth to Lakeside.

Court Street — From Exchange to Prospect.

Coyote Court — From Quail Creek to cul-de-sac.

Creek Street — From Broadway to Malvern.

Curve Terrace — From Prospect to end.

Daffodil Street — from Lakeshore to end at 223 Daffodil.

Dino Street — From Pauline to Marylou.

Dove Hollow Court — From Quail Creek to cul-desac.

E. Lakeland Point — From S. Lakeland Point to end.

Eddiemee Street — From Pauline to Jacobs.

Elaine Street — From Meadow to Sunrise.

Emma Street — From Cones to Marymee.

Essex Street — From Panama to Holt.

Exchange Street — From Prospect to Mountain.

Forest Lakes (west entrance) — From roundabout to roundabout.

Fox Creek Court — From Quail Creek to cul-de sac.

Gibbs Street — From Cones to Pleasant Valley.

Golf Links Road — From Central to Winans.

Gramercy Court — From Quail Creek to cul-de-sac.

Grandview Drive — From end to end.

Gray Circle — From Indian Hills to full loop.

Green Meadows Court — From Quail Creek to cul-desac.

Hickory Street — From Quapaw to Ouachita.

High Meadow Loop — From Lakeside to full loop.

Highland Street — From Bayard to Tuggle.

Hobson Avenue — From Third to Linwood.

Holt Street — From Emory to Essex.

Horseshoe Street — Lakeshore to Daffodil.

Hudson Street — From Seventh to Fifth.

Ida Street — From Talisman to Tuggle.

Idlewood Street — From Cypressvale to Woodridge.

Island View Cove — From Peninsula to end.

Jacobs Street — From Cones to Eddiemee.

Joker Place — From Lakeshore to end.

Lakeshore Terrace — From Lakeshore to end.

Lakeside Drive — From Malvern to Malvern.

LaSalle Street — From Pullman to Superior.

Laser Street — From Nevada to Troupe.

Levin Street — From Trivista Right to Langston.

Longlinks Circle — From Golf Links to Golf Links.

Market Street — From Prospect to Broadway.

Marylou Street — From Bellaire to Dino.

Marymee Street — From Pauline to Jacobs.

Meadowmere Terrace — From Malvern to end.

Michele Street — From Meadow to Sunrise.

Millcreek Road — From E. Grand frontage to bridge.

Mineral Street — From Congress to State.

Olive Street — From Central to Broadway.

Oma Street — From Pauline to Busche.

Orange Street — From Central to crosswalk at Farmers Market.

Ouachita Avenue — From Grand to Central.

Oxford Street — From Lakeshore to Lakeshore.

Paddock Point — From San Carlos to end.

Parkridge Street — From Malvern to Fairoaks.

Patricia Street — From Albert Pike to Meadow.

Peninsula Drive — From city limits to Lakepark.

Poppy Street — From Wilmot to William.

Quail Creek Road — From Lakeside to 317 Quail Creek.

Raymond Street — From Illinois to end.

Robinwood Terrace — From Idlewood to Robinwood.

Romer Alley — From Prospect to Crown.

S. Lakeland Point — From Lakeland to end.

Seneca Street — Parking lot.

Seventh Street — From Hobson to Greenwood.

Shady Heights Road — From Shady Grove to city limits.

Sharon Terrace — From city limits to city limits.

Sherwood Street — From Longlinks to Longlinks.

St. Francis Circle — From St. George to St. George.

Starcrest Lane — From Buena Vista to end.

Sulphur Street — From Glade to Breeze.

Summer Street — From Albert Pike to Leonard.

Sunrise Street — From Charlon to Rector Heights.

Third Street — From Hobson to Oaklawn.

Tuggle Street — From Ida to Highland.

Union Street — From Pine to Robin.

Vadea Terrace — From Malvern to end.

Whittington Avenue — From Central to Walnut.

Whittington Avenue — From Woodfin to Linn.

Williams Street — From Clay to Poppy.

Wilmot Street — From Lowery to Clay.

Winans Street — From Golf Links to Shady Grove.

Winona Street — From Central to Carson.

Wise Street — From Vernel to Montana.

Woodberry Street — From Meadow to Sunrise.

Woodlawn Avenue — From Central to end.