Ken Unger Gives Presentation at HSVPOA July Board Meeting

Ken Unger, Director of Hot Springs Village Public Services, updated the Hot Springs Village POA Board on the Road Preservation Program. (The slide show for this presentation is located at the bottom of the article. To enlarge the pdf, click on the “Switch to Presentation Mode” icon at the bottom.

We are hot and heavy into the program for the summer season.

Mill and Overlay (Slide 2)

Unger stated, “The first part of the program was a mill and overlay in various sections across the Village, with the primary section being Barcelona from DeSoto back to Magala Way…We’re in a quality control phase right now with the contractor to remedy any imperfections in that stretch, and then we will stripe it.”

Balearic Paving (Slides 3 and 4)

A section along Balearic – Ponderosa Way and Murillo Way. These sections have been paved and are also in a quality control phase. Once imperfections have been addressed, these two stretches will be striped. Both of these areas were super-paved years ago, and this is delaminating. This makes the roads difficult to patch, but a recent method has been employed, which works better than previous efforts. “We are going to continue to see this across the Village as these older, super-paved areas start to have problems. We will be doing a lot more mill and replace in these areas over the years to come.”

North and South Barcelona Fog Seal (Slide 5)

Unger said, “Last year, we did what we call ‘fog seal,’ which is basically a preservation layer of emulsion and some sand mixed in over portions of DeSoto Boulevard. We plan to fog-seal portions of North and South Barcelona this year. We are going to complete that along the balances of the stretches and restripe both of those roads. We anticipate this project to commence in August.” The anticipated completion time for this project is approximately one week or so, and detours will be used.

Maderas Drive Entrance Full-Depth Reclamation (Slide 6)

“The final major project is a trial of full-depth reclamation on the inbound lane. “For those of you who travel on this road, you are aware this stretch of roadway has suffered a lot of truck traffic over the course of the last few years. Efforts to patch the road were not very successful. Patches we did last year are already failing because of the nature of the truck traffic.”

This project has been changed from what was initially presented. The entire entrance will be closed, and the inbound lane will be repaired. This project began on Monday, July 17. The section of the road was milled. The full-depth reclamation process takes 12 inches and mixes it with cement, which is rolled out. This effectively leaves a 12-inch concrete base. Next, two inches of paving material is laid over the base. It is anticipated the project will take about a month. “I am hopeful, weather permitting, that we will complete the project faster.” In the past, rain has interfered with project completion timetables.

Reuse of Asphalt Millings

In the past, removed asphalt was discarded. A by-product of the mill and replace projects is the ability to redeploy the millings into other areas, such as boat ramps, launches, and a section at the Grove Park parking lot. Unger said they would continue to use this material throughout the Village and feels they will hopefully complete up to four boat ramps in 2023.

Crack Sealing

The crack sealing program began in 2022 and was recently completed in 2023 when most of DeSoto Boulevard crack sealing was accomplished. The Woodlands front parking lot was also crack sealed. The East and West Gates were restriped. Ponderosa at the Coronado Center area is being restriped. Pizarro has also received striping. The striping program is planned to continue.

Additional Contractor Patching (Slide 7)

Additionally, a contractor has been patching throughout the Village.

Why are roads damaged by culvert work not asphalted immediately?

For better results, when doing culvert work, the areas needing to be patched are filled with gravel and are allowed to sit for a few weeks. “There is a reason for that. It is not because we are just not getting to it. We want to ensure that the gravel is compacted properly before we pave over the area,” explained the Public Services Director.

Many dips on Village roadways have occurred because of improper compaction. A little inconvenience of leaving the damaged areas graveled for several weeks should resolve the settling issues once we pave the area. That is the goal behind that. I ask for your patience.

POA Road Efforts Continue on a Daily Basis

Unger said his in-house team continues daily to patch potholes, perform minor crack-sealing projects, and line striping.

Contact Information for Public Services Director

Ken Unger
Director Public Services
Hot Springs Village
501-226-9609
Kunger@hsvpoa.org