Apex's 268 miles of town streets scored 86 of 100 in a June survey, top of a consultant's 12-town table. 6.6% rate poor. Council hears it Tuesday.
Apex’s town-maintained streets are in good shape overall, a new survey finds, but the town still faces about $14 million in pavement repairs it has not yet done.
The survey scored the town’s street network at 86 on a 100-point scale. That is in the “good” range. The Apex Town Council will hear the findings at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall, 73 Hunter St.
The results are in the agenda packet for the Oct. 27 council meeting, a large PDF. The presentation runs from page 326. It is an information item, so the council takes no vote on it.
What the survey found
Pavement Navigators, a consultant hired by the town, surveyed all 268 miles of town streets in June. It looked for seven common kinds of damage, including cracking, potholes and rutting.
The town’s cover memo for the item gives the headline results:
- Overall score: 86, the Pavement Condition Index, or PCI
- Good or very good: about 82.4% of streets
- Fair: 11%
- Poor or very poor: 6.6%
- Repair backlog: about $14 million
On the consultant’s scale, 81 to 91 is good and 91 to 100 is very good. A street in the 26 to 65 range is poor.
The presentation puts the town’s street pavement at 3,773,500 square yards. At a reconstruction cost of $60 a square yard, it values those roads at $226 million.
How Apex compares
The consultant’s presentation ranks Apex first in a table of 12 North Carolina towns and cities. Fuquay-Varina, about 11 miles away, is a point behind. Holly Springs, about five miles away, scores 80, and Garner, about 15 miles away, scores 77.
The same table shows what each place spends on street upkeep a year:
| Town | Street miles | PCI | Yearly funding | Per street mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex | 268 | 86 | $4.13 million | $15,400 |
| Fuquay-Varina | 184 | 85 | $1.2 million | $6,500 |
| Morrisville | 58 | 82 | $1.1 million | $19,000 |
| Holly Springs | 170 | 80 | $1 million | $5,900 |
| Garner | 116 | 77 | $1.5 million | $12,900 |
The presentation does not say when the other towns’ surveys were done. Treat the comparison as a rough guide, not a ranking from one survey at one time.
Cary does not appear in the table.
What comes next
The consultant will walk the council through a preliminary three-year plan. It groups work by subdivision and uses three main treatments: rejuvenators, micro surfacing and rehabilitation.
The presentation matches the repair to the score:
| Street score | Recommended work |
|---|---|
| 82 to 100 | Preventive work, crack sealing or patching |
| 65 to 82 | Corrective preservation |
| 26 to 65 | Rehabilitation |
| 0 to 26 | Reconstruction |
The presentation recommends a new survey every two to three years, in line with Federal Highway Administration guidance. It also says funding should grow as the town adds streets. It includes a chart of projected conditions to 2036 at current funding, but gives no figures for it.
The town does not list which streets are in the plan in the packet. Its Peak Pavement Management map shows planned paving work.
What it means for you
- Most town streets are in good shape. About eight in 10 rate good or very good.
- About one in 15 does not. The 6.6% rated poor or very poor is where the heavier repairs will go.
- State roads are not in this survey. U.S. 64, NC 55 and U.S. 1 belong to NCDOT. Report a problem on those to NCDOT at 1-877-368-4968. Our road closures page covers current work on both.
- To report a pothole on a town street, call the town’s Ask Apex line at 919-249-3311.
- Watch it live: the meeting streams on the town’s YouTube channel, and Public Forum gives anyone three minutes to address the council.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda, the mayor will recognize the Apex High team behind the AETHER-12 satellite prototype.
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