What’s the condition of Sioux Falls streets? Study says ‘very good’

Sioux Falls streets are in better condition that the national average, rating “very good” on the most recent citywide survey conducted by an outside firm.

Roadway Asset Services conducted the evaluation, which takes place every four years. Last time, Sioux Falls rated a 70 overall on a scale of 100 called the pavement condition index, or PCI. This time, the PCI score went up to 73.

The nationwide average ranges from 65 to 75.

“That’s a fantastic score,” said Zac Thomason, pavement management consultant and preservation coach with Roadway Asset Services.

“To put it into perspective, less than 5 percent of the agencies we work with score above an 80. It is financially unachievable for most agencies to get that high in terms of condition.”

Sioux Falls maintains more than 3,500 lane miles, or more than 18 million square yards of pavement.

“That’s a lot of pavement,” Thomason said. “You could pave a small two-lane road all the way from Sioux Falls to San Diego, California, if you so desired.”

Roadway Asset Services uses sophisticated technology to evaluate the city’s network of streets. That includes a mobile system that looks at cracking, rutting and potholes, measures cracks by width and depth, employs a five-lens panoramic camera and uses a series of lasers to measure the roughness or feel of a road.

“It consumes all that information, all the crack measurements, so we can qualify the different types of distresses,” Thomason said.

In Sioux Falls, 36 percent of roads were rated excellent, which “tells us there has been reinvestment back in the pavement management program,” he said.

The balance of the road network generally rated at least fair, with 2.1 percent rated poor.

“As a Public Works team, we have a goal to maintain a PCI of 70 or higher, and we are pleased with a PCI of 73,” Wes Philips, principal engineer for the city of Sioux Falls, said in a statement. “Taking a data-driven approach is key to investing in the right streets at the right time to extend their lifespan. Our score shows we are making, and need to continue making, the necessary investments in our street network.” 

The city also has a 3 percent backlog for what the firm would consider big-ticket improvements needed, and “anything less than 5 percent is really a phenomenal place to be in terms of financial management,” Thomason said, adding that the city is in “a great position to manage the network.”

Sioux Falls uses a variety of pavement management approaches, including slurry seal treatments, which are “low-cost preventative maintenance treatments,” said Dustin Hansen, street operations manager. “It’s very fast. We open the streets typically within three to four hours, and we hope to get five to seven years of life out of that.”

This season, the city treated about 400 blocks, he said.

“Even if it’s a good road, we make improvements to those on an annual basis,” Hansen said.

There are multiple reasons why the city’s PCI score likely went up, he said. Many new developments have been built in the past four years — and those new roads help the overall average. But the city also has taken a more intentional approach to addressing issues such as potholes, using technology to track areas of persistent problems.

If potholes continue to pop up, “we put that into another category — the asphalt issues program,” he explained. “We’re going to continue to keep our foot on the gas pedal and maintain our streets and invest as many dollars as we can.”

A map of data collected by RAS during the pavement management survey, as of October 2023, is available on the city’s website. Current and recently completed street projects are not reflected on the map. The map is updated once a year at the end of the street construction season.