News Blog: Fixing Our Streets Program digs deep to provide smooth pavement with base repair projects

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BEFORE:

A sunken section of pavement on a city street

A sunken section of pavement indicates the base below the roadway has failed and needs to be replaced, in addition to the pavement at the surface. The Fixing Our Streets Program is making base repairs all over Portland. Photo by Portland Bureau of Transportation.

AFTER:

A finished base repair, showing smooth pavement

An exmaple of a section of pavement after a base repair project has been completed. Photo by Portland Bureau of Transportation.

(May 27, 2019) Ever experienced a section of road that feels like going up and down on waves when you drive or bike over it?

That’s a spot where the base underneath the road has started failing. The Fixing Our Streets Program has repaired 253 such locations, resulting in smoother pavement today, and preventing the need for more costly reconstruction later on. 

By the end of 2019, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will have made 375 such repairs to street sections in every quadrant of the city, thanks to the Fixing Our Streets Program. 

VIDEO:
See how crews dig out below the surface of a road, replace the base layer of rock and replace the road from the bottom up

An audio and video interview about base repairs

Video by Portland Bureau of Transportation.

Base repair projects are reserved for streets that are in poor or very poor condition. They address those portions of the street that have failed from top to bottom, by digging out the rock layer or “base” underneath the asphalt and replacing it with a new rock foundation and asphalt. The goal of these base repair projects is to prevent the structural failure from spreading to other parts of the street. 

PBOT crews use dig into a street for a base repair

In a base repair project, crews dig below the surface of the street, replace the underground base layer and replace the pavement. Photo by Portland Bureau of Transportation.

Learn more about base repair projects as well as safety and other improvements that are under way all over Portland at the Fixing Our Streets Program website

Fixing Our Streets logo and web link to more info

The Fixing Our Streets program, paid for by a local gas tax approved by Portland voters in May 2016 and a heavy vehicle use tax, is Portland’s first local funding source for transportation. Fixing Our Streets is invested in street maintenance and safety improvements. The City Council ordinance included a project list that shows specific projects that are intended to be funded. The list of projects can be found at www.fixingourstreets.com

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the City’s transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility. www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation

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