The Sturgeon Bay City Council will be asked to consider a new way of dealing with the lifecycle of city streets when it holds its first meeting of 2017 at noon on Tuesday. City Administrator Josh VanLieshout says the city has about 72 miles of paved streets and roads that serve a variety of needs and varying traffic volumes. VanLieshout says about 1.18 miles of streets are replaced each year, leading to a predicted lifestyle of 61 years for each mile of street. The City Administrator says the universal rule of thumb is that an asphalt street is expected to last 25 to 30 years, depending on a variety of factors such as traffic volume. He says trying to double the life expectancy of an asphalt street is not a good proposition for a community’s largest asset. VanLieshout is asking the city council to direct staff to further investigate the replacement and lifecycle costs to the City of Sturgeon Bay as well as possible solutions to address the issue.
