Ask people about Manchester’s Road conditions this time of year, and there’s a general sentiment.
“Some are okay. Some are bad,” said Dave Miner.
Like every Connecticut community, there are streets showing signs of winter damage which now requires spring and summertime repair.
“I don’t want to get a flat tire,” said Char Shaw. “So, I have to avoid the potholes and the sink holes when I drive.”
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Determining which roads need the most attention, Manchester is one of several Connecticut towns that has contracted Massachusetts-based transportation infrastructure analysis company, Street Scan, to do a comprehensive, data-driven evaluation of every town road.
“To visually inspect 500 roads is kind of a daunting task,” said Manchester Town Manager Jeff LaMalva.
Instead, the evaluation process will be done with computers and cameras attached to a Honda. It’s a high-tech mobile scanning device being used to rate each of Manchester’s 500 plus roads, which cover about 212 miles. They will all be driven this week in a specialized scanning car.
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“There are 3D cameras that are mounted on the rear of the vehicle that are pavement facing,” said Street Scan Director of Sales Bill Eddy.
That, in combination with a roof mounted 360-degree, 30 megapixel camera, is where detailed road surface data comes from. Using an algorithm, that data grades each road on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being the worst.
“For full-blown road replacement, we are looking at roads in the 30 to 40 range,” said LaMalva.
Driving the high-tech Honda is Terry Golesworthy.
“Most people in the city, particularly the kids, assume I’m Google. So, there’s a lot of waving going on,” said Golesworthy with a laugh.
Similar to how Google Earth acquires information, Golesworthy will drive every Manchester street this week, collecting data in a car that uses a ground facing scanner and roof-mounted camera, whimsically named, “The Ladybug.”
The data will be collected this week and completely handed over to the town within 90 days.
“It helps us out tremendously in the fact that it gives us accurate up-to-date information on the condition of each road,” said LaMalva.
LaMalva says it is especially important this year to have an accurate assessment of where to spend the road repair budget, because as he explains, inflation has spiked to cost of labor and materials by 20 to 30%.
