City and town officials have consistently reported that Chapter 90 authorizations are not enough to help keep pace with local road construction needs.

The MMA wants to know how much your community needs annually to keep local roads safe and maintained in a state of good repair. The “state of good repair” standard is based on ongoing analysis of local roadway needs and multi-year planning for project scheduling and funding. A useful working description for managing roadway assets toward a “state of good repair,” can be found in federal highway regulation definitions:

“Asset management means a strategic and systematic process of operating, maintaining, and improving physical assets, with a focus on both engineering and economic analysis based upon quality information, to identify a structured sequence of maintenance, preservation, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement actions that will achieve and sustain a desired state of good repair over the life cycle of the assets at minimum practicable cost.” 23 CFR 515.5

The key is to have a plan and the resources to fund it.