In addition to some $30 million in sewer repairs making its way to the November ballot, city officials may also seek permission to bond another $3.75 million to repair roads in Derby.
Street Commission/Public Works Director Anthony DeFala said he has inspected every road in Derby since being hired at the start of the year. Many are in bad shape, but DeFala came up with a list of 12 roads that are the worst of the worst.
“The condition of these roads speak for themselves,” DeFala said. “They are in bad shape.”
He wants to mill, inspect, repair and pave the following roads:
- Emmett Avenue
- Seventh Street
- Mount Pleasant Street
- Evelyn Road
- Yochers Lane
- Eighth Street
- Bluff Street
- Mountain Street
- East Hawkins Street
- Benanto Drive
- Pleasant View Drive
- Derby-Milford Road
Catch basin repairs are on tap for four — Emmett, Mount Pleasant, Eighth and Derby-Milford — of the 12 roads listed above.
“It’s hard to tell before we mill the road what other repairs could be needed. Once you start milling, you can tell if a manhole cover is rotted and needs to be replaced,” DeFala said. “Basically, the roads will be new once they are complete.”
The full length of the roads listed will be milled and paved.
“Emmett Avenue is the longest road, at 3,400 feet,” DeFala said. “These roads will be done beginning to end.”
The only caveat is the work DeFala wants to do on Derby-Milford Road, which is riddled with potholes.
DeFala will make some repairs that will hold for three years. However, he noted the state is scheduled to do a major reconstruction of the road, which includes the realignment of the intersection with Route 34.
The state’s work is scheduled to start in 2017.
“Everything in that road, including the infrastructure underneath, is scheduled to be replaced, so I’m not going to do the full length of the road,” DeFala said. “I’ll do large patches to alleviate the pothole issue, but I’m not going to spend a whole lot of money on that road because I know it is going to be redone. But I’ll also deal with any issues that pop up.”
DeFala said Emmett Avenue is probably in the worst shape.
“Mount Pleasant is a close second. Eighth Street’s a mess. They’re all bad though. These roads are in desperate need of repair.”
The list, DeFala noted, is subject to change as various utility companies and the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority are scheduled to inspect and possibly make repairs to underground piping.
“If we have a road on the list, and we find out the infrastructure under the road is inadequate and has to be replaced, I’m not going to do that road. I’ll go do another road,” DeFala said. “I don’t want to pave a road and then have it torn up.”
DeFala has been in touch with various utilities and the city’s WPCA to coordinate the work. He doesn’t want to repair and pave a road only to have it torn up again by a contractor hired by a utility company.
On a related note, DeFala, with assistance from the city’s corporation counsel and the president of the Board of Aldermen, convinced the Aldermen to create rules as to how contractors make repairs to Derby roads.
It’s called the “permanent patch permitting system.”
The city was running into problems because subcontractors hired by utility companies to do underground work were leaving the roads a mess, city officials said.
The Board of Aldermen adopted the new rules at a meeting Aug. 28.
On Aug. 25, the Aldermen directed a lawyer to draft language regarding the $3.75 million road bond that could be placed on the November ballot.
