LEWISTON — The city can spend about $2.8 million per year going forward to keep its roads in good shape, councilors were told Tuesday.

City Engineer Rick Burnham presented a city pavement study and maintenance plan to councilors Tuesday during their evening workshop.

The program relies on a computer program that tracks a road’s surface based on its current condition, daily use and other factors.

The study, created by Gray engineering consultants Gorrill Palmer, is available for download on the city’s website.

Public Works Director Dave Jones said the process makes the effort to pick which roads need work more formal.

“We’ve been doing this without the assistance of something to really show what we do,” Jones said. “But this brings it right out and shows what we have to do.”

Burnham said the city’s policy has been to spend about $2 million per year repaving, maintaining and repairing city roads. The computer models show that city roads will slowly degrade based on that level of investment.

He suggested spending $200,000 for light maintenance annually to keep good roads in decent shape. That would include sealing occasional cracks and filling potholes on roads that are still considered good.

Another $2.1 million would be spent on fair roads. That would involve putting down extra layers of asphalt on the existing roads, a project called an “overlay.”

Another $500,000 would be reserved for roads in worst shape deserving full rebuilding.

“That’s how we are proposing to keep our good roads good,” Burnham said. “Pavement management is really just asset management, about putting the best money we can to the best places.”

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