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Gribi said.
Every few years, the city will reassess roads itself, applying for chip seals until a need arises for reconstruction. During reconstruction, the city would have to replace not just the roads themselves, but also water lines, sewer lines and other utilities underground.
For comparison, the $250,000 from TIB could only fund two or three blocks of work if used for reconstruction instead.
Chip-sealed roads have an extended lifespan of five to seven years, with additional applications extending lifespan by up to 15 years.
“This is just the start of an overall maintenance program to keep the roads and get as good a repair as we can,” Gribi said. “Or reconstruction needs to happen.”
The city was recently awarded a $266,000 grant for next year’s road work, matched by $14,000 in local funding, as previously reported by The Miner. The Newport City Council unanimously approved the grant agreement at their Monday, June 1 meeting. The city has yet to determine the scope of next year’s road work, Gribi said.
Other transportation projects will be outlined in Newport’s Comprehensive Plan, which the city aims to adopt by February 2027. Under consideration are converting South Washington Avenue or Union Avenue from one-ways to two-ways and constructing roundabouts in some areas.
“It’s looking at a higher level of traffic and movement through the city,” Gribi said.
In a separate project, the city will address potholes, cracks and other breakage at Seventh Street. Seventh Street has sustained damage over time due to heavy bus and truck traffic, which Gribi said the road was not designed to withstand.
City staff has a meeting scheduled with TIB representatives to discuss temporary repairs and treatments to Seventh Street. These would give the city a few years more to find funding for reconstruction.
