4 April 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – An age-old question has finally been answered. The reason behind some of Topeka’s rapidly deteriorating roads boils down to one thing: the makeup of the road itself.
Before 2010, the City of Topeka used a soft, less durable limestone blend for its concrete roads, as this was the type of rock that was available to contracting companies at that time. Concrete is different than asphalt, and according to the City, it only makes up about 17% of roads in Topeka. However, the deterioration of that concrete was stark enough, that the City had to take action.
“So what we did was we changed the specification of our aggregate, from limestone, which we were getting a lot of soft limestone that was not wearing well,” Braxton Copley, director of Topeka Public Works, said. “And we change that to a hard rock, which is basically quartzite, granite or trap rock. Once we made the change, our durability and wear-ability of our concrete roads is where it should be.”
Copley said that with this new blend, concrete roads should last roughly 30 years. The contrast between the “old” concrete roads and the “new” ones is most visible at the intersection of MacVicar Ave. and 6th St. If you travel south on MacVicar between I-70 and 6th St., drivers may notice how smooth the roads are, because that stretch was one of the first major concrete stretches the City repaired. However, when turning right on 6th there is significantly more deterioration, as the concrete along 6th between MacVicar and Gage Blvd has yet to be repaired.
The City is taking these projects one by one, due to a lack of funding.
“We have far greater needs than we have funding for, right,” Copley said. “And so when I’m looking for roads to replace, I’m looking at the pavement condition index, I’m looking at what that condition is versus other roads, and then I’m having to make some very hard decisions in terms of what projects do I select?”
The money for road repairs comes from the City’s “Half-Cent Tax.” With so many roads in need of attention, and the high price of concrete roads, they aren’t always the top priority. It’s about which project is the most urgent, because the City is trying to fix as many of Topeka’s roads as possible.
“I think the critical thing is, we have a great group of contractors, consultants, city staff, who are all working really hard to improve the overall pavement quality in the city of Topeka,” Copley said.
With the weather getting warmer, you can expect more road projects to begin around town. Construction, of course, does mean things are getting fixed.