Breaking down the “Under the Hood” City infrastructure presentation

Today, we’re getting under the hood of Chattanooga’s infrastructure problems + possible solutions that were recently outlined in Chief of Staff Brent Goldberg’s presentation to City Council.

🛣️ Roads

• Chattanooga’s current average road condition — measured in PCI, or Pavement Condition Index, on a scale from 0 to 100 — is 62 PCI across 2,352 miles of local roadway
• A PCI of 40 or below is defined as “poor”
• Locally, many of the roads with the lowest rating are in the most vulnerable communities + neighborhoods
• According to the presentation, the City budgeted $6.3 million for road paving this year, but Chattanooga needs to spend $9.22 million per year to maintain our current PCI

🚦Traffic Signals

• The presentation identified 17 local intersections that currently warrant traffic signals
• Current funding levels allow for building 1 new traffic signal per year, or the repair of 1-3 existing signal intersections per year

🌉Bridges

• The City manages 86 structures crossing rivers, creeks, roads, and railroad tracks
• The City budgeted $400,000 in FY21 for bridge repair
• According to the presentation, over the next 5 to 10 years Chattanooga needs ~$120 million to repair our most critical bridges
• The Wilder, Wilcox, and Walnut Street bridges all have funding plans in place

🏘️ Sidewalks

• Citywide, there are currently 490 miles of sidewalk (not including sidewalks on most local neighborhood streets)
• Using current contract costs for sidewalk construction ($440 per linear foot), new sidewalks would cost ~$1.5 billion

🌳 Greenways

• Residents have requested additional greenway construction in the following areas: East Line, North Chick, Northshore, Alton Park Connector, and the University Greenway
• The presentation estimated that construction of new greenways would cost roughly $3 million-$6 million per mile

💡 Possible solutions for the future

• Seeking community input to determine where the City’s money can best be spent on infrastructure
• Seeking outside sources of funding
• Ensuring that infrastructure is examined through an equity lens so as to not leave behind vulnerable communities
• Revising the City’s budget to reverse infrastructure decline

Poll