Question Eight
Providence Roads Bond
Frequently Asked Questions
September 2012

Earlier this year, the Providence City Council approved an ordinance to take out a $40 million general obligation bond to improve roads across Providence. The ordinance is subject to approval by Providence voters and will appear as Question 8 (the first local question) on the Providence ballot this November. Complete maps of the planned projects can be accessed at www.ProvidenceRI.com/roadbond.

When will Question 8 be on the ballot?
November 6, 2012. This year, for the first time, Rhode Island voters can vote by mail without excuse. This year is also the first year that voters must show identification in order to vote. More information about voting is available at www.ProvidenceRI.com/board-of-canvassers.

If passed, when would construction begin?
Construction will start in Spring 2013 and run through Fall 2015.

How many roads will be repaired?
The Department of Public Works has identified approximately 65 miles of roads throughout Providence. Roads include residential and commuter routes. All identified roads are maintained by the City of Providence.

How were roads selected?
Roads were selected using a merit-based pavement management analysis conducted by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, a civil engineering firm with more than three decades of experience in pavement management analysis. The analysis ranks the streets based on a benefit value formula that takes into account the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), the cost of repair, the expected useful life of the road repair and the number of cars that use the road on a daily basis. The PCI is an index which ranks road conditions based on field measurements of pavement distress. On average, the roads identified for repair have a PCI of 53 (out of 100). The roads range from 28 to 84 on the scale. Roughly two-thirds of the streets were selected based on the Benefit Value. The remaining roads were selected based on the local roads in worst condition (lowest PCI).

Do individual Council Members have discretionary control over available funding?
No. The Department of Public Works briefed Council Members on the rationale for selecting the roads in the paving plan and considered their suggestions.

In past years, Council Members were given control over a certain percentage of the total bond. In 1996, two $50 million bonds went to the voters and included broad language and ward-control of the bond allocation. This resulted in money designated for roads being used by Council Members to build a restaurant, renovate a church and hire an assistant principal at a private school.

Why isn't my street getting repaved?
The streets were ranked based on the benefit value and condition and only the highest ranked streets that could be repaved with the allocated funds were included.

Will there be any changes to the proposed projects?
Projects could be subject to amendment based on matters outside of the city's control, including emergency utility work, unexpected road decay, private development that has yet to begin and changes in the anticipated project costs.

Is the City coordinating projects with utility companies?
The Department of Public Works provides utility companies with a list of all planned projects and requests that upgrades and maintenance work be scheduled to align with those projects whenever possible. Further, utility companies are required to apply for a permit before starting any non-emergency work and must provide the Department of Public Works timely notice of any digging in response to emergency work. Providing utilities with advance notification of repair work will help the utility companies plan routine maintenance and reduce the need for emergency repairs. The Department of Public Works will be conducting monthly meetings with utility companies to coordinate road work and utility work to assure planned utility work is performed prior to road paving.

How many jobs will the repair work support?
Based on 2009 research by the University of Massachusetts Political Economic Research Institute, this $40 million infrastructure investment, if approved by voters, could support more than 750 jobs in Providence over three years.

What is the total debt service on the $40 million bond?
If approved, the bond would add approximately $3.2 million of additional GO debt services to the FY14 budget. The City will pay approximately $24 million of interest and fees on the bond over 20 years. In total, the debt service (principal, fees and interested) of this bond over 20 years will be $64,301,722.

Per capita, this additional debt service comes out to less than $20 per resident on an annual basis. In FY20, the City's GO debt services will be $7.5 million - $2 million less than the City currently pays.