The City of White Bear Lake owns and maintains a large network of public infrastructure. A major portion of this infrastructure is in the form of the pavements we drive on every day. As with any piece of infrastructure, bituminous pavement requires periodic maintenance and repair. In this regard, pavement must be treated in the same manner as walls, floors, and roofs. Inspection and minor routine maintenance will minimize problems when they occur and when damage is noted, timely repairs will prevent the damage from deteriorating into more severe problems that will be more expensive to repair. Relatively small scale expenditures on periodic maintenance will actually save money in the long run.
Each year the City Council selects streets for inclusion in the City’s Pavement Management Program, including the Street Reconstruction Program and Mill & Overlay Program. The Council receives recommendations for these projects from the Engineering and Public Works Departments based upon pavement conditions, drainage problems, underground utility needs (City water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer mains as well as private electric, gas and communication facilities), effects of redevelopment projects, property owner requests and other factors that have an influence on traffic or street conditions.
Since 1990, the City of White Bear Lake has undertaken an initiative to upgrade all of its streets with new concrete curb and gutter, new pavement, and improved drainage and utility infrastructure. The Street Reconstruction Program has proceeded with reconstruction of 2 to 3 miles of streets each year. The streets included in the proposed Street Reconstruction Program have reached their useful life and are recommended for complete reconstruction.
Streets that are proposed for reconstruction have the following characteristics:
- deteriorating bituminous pavements
- poor drainage characteristics
- sanitary sewer facilities which need upgrading
At the time of reconstruction, the underground gas utilities are often upgraded and replaced by Xcel Energy.
The streets included in the Mill & Overlay Program have been constructed to city standards in the past but due to pavement deterioration are now in need of rehabilitation of the wearing surface only.
The City undertakes seal coating and crack sealing projects on a regular basis to maintain the wearing surface of the streets, seal small cracks to prevent water penetration and improve the overall appearance of the roadway.
