IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED FOR RACQUETTE ROAD

Community Planning Meeting Scheduled

AKWESASNE- The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Office of Planning and Infrastructure is planning to make improvements to Raquette Point Road and is asking the community for their input.

Background concerning project history / needs:
Many homes and businesses use the Raquette Point Road on a daily basis, and it is an important transportation link in our community. The roadway has functioned well for many years, but is now showing signs of needing repair. Tribal Council has enlisted the help of a highway design engineering firm, Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM) to help design the improvements.

CDM has outlined many things to consider when designing improvements for a road. These include function (how well does it handle existing traffic?), durability (how long do we want the roadway improvements to last?) and safety (has there been any property damage or injury to people due to the roadway?) And of course, budget is always a factor; (the extent of improvements must be weighed against how much we can afford to pay for them).  

The best roads are those that drain well, are wide enough and aligned well enough to provide safe travel for vehicles and pedestrians, and that serve the purpose they are intended for. Although often taken for granted, roadways are an important and valuable part of our community. As costly as they are, the community that takes good care of its roadways will ultimately have more money to use elsewhere in the community.

Construction of a roadway can be thought of as similar to a house, with a foundation (the gravel course) and a roof to shed water (the asphalt course). The foundation is important because it provides a good, strong base on which to build the road. It also serves to properly drain water from the roadway. The asphalt courses provide strength, friction for tires, and shed water with both a cross-slope and a grade (the profile or “pitch” of the roadway as you travel along it). The depth of the gravel and asphalt courses are determined by the estimated number and weight of the vehicles anticipated to use the road.

Safety is another important element in designing roadways. If roadways are too narrow, or curves too sharp, accidents can occur. People walk and ride bicycles on the edges of a roadway. These edges or “shoulders” are important as they provide a refuge for disabled vehicles to get out of traffic, and provide a safe place for people to walk. Shoulders also provide additional strength to the roadway. Drivers that stray from the travel lane on roads without shoulders can find themselves on soft dirt at the edge of road, or worse, in the ditch.

The Raquette Point Road as it exists has several problems. The freeze / thaw cycle has created many potholes and bumps in the road which is evidenced by the rough ride experienced daily. At several locations the ditches along the sides of the roadways need to be cleaned out and reshaped to drain the roadway properly. The road also has very narrow shoulders or none at all, creating an unsafe condition for both drivers and pedestrians.

Tribal Council is asking for your suggestions to repair the road. There are two basic repair options available, each producing different results. Questions to consider are: How long do we want this road to last before we repair it again? And, how safe do we need to make it?

How long a road will stay in good shape is a function of draining it and the depth and strength of the materials used to build it. An ‘overlay’ can be placed, which is generally 1 ½ inches to 2 ½ inches of asphalt spread over the existing road. Although in the short term this produces a new looking road with a smoother ride, this thin coating of asphalt has no real strength, and will quickly deteriorate if the road foundation is not sound. Replacing the foundation and placing more and stronger layers of asphalt will make for a longer-lasting road, but will cause some inconvenience for residents while the roadway is being reconstructed and will cost significantly more. To make the roadway safer for drivers and pedestrians, a wider travel lane and/or adding paved shoulders is a must. How safe the road is will depend on the width of shoulder. Of course widening the shoulders also widens the road and pushes the ditch farther from the road than it is now. Residents must decide how much of their property fronting the road they are willing to allow to be used for roadway construction. Adding a six feet-wide shoulder will generally mean ‘losing’ about 6 feet of front yard. The trade-off is a longer-lasting, safer road for the entire community.          

All of these repairs of course come with a price tag. There is a chance that residents may decide they want more than the community can afford to build. In most communities however, residents acting together can produce greater results than thought possible. On the other hand, residents may decide they would rather the Tribal Council spend money on other projects and simply overlay the roadway. 

How you can get involved: A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1st 2007 at 6 PM in the lobby of the Tribal Building. Please take a moment to contact Ernie Thompson, Director of Planning & Infrastructure at (518) 358-2272 with your thoughts concerning Raquette Point Road.

Your ideas and thoughts do make a difference!       

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