Typically we would recommend funding for an asphalt overlay for most community street at approximately 20-30 years however there are scenarios when an overlay is not appropriate. A poorly installed road which may have drainage issues or an inadequate base would likely need a more costly full replacement (removal of old road) as an overlay over a poorly installed road will just continue having the issues and end up costly a community more in the long run.
Our recommendations for funding for roads that appear to have installation issues are to first hire a qualified and licensed vendor to complete an inspection of the asphalt road then secondly utilize their recommendations to update the reserve study with appropriate costs and the time frame for which to address the issues.
It has been our experience that communities which proceed with an overlay over poorly designed roads continue to have significant issues and the costs, long term, are much higher due to constant repairs. Additionally the overlay will likely have a much shorter useful life than is typical which has an impact on the funding requirements in the reserve account.