Little Relief in Sight for Amherst’s Roads
Section of Lincoln Ave. between Amity St. and Route 9 illustrating active potholes and profusion of irregular and uneven patches of more than a decade's worth of previous potholes. Photo: Stephen Braun
Town engineer Jason Skeels estimates that to improve Amherst’s Pavement Condition Index (PCI) above the current average of 62 or “fair” would require an additional allocation of $5 million per year toward road resurfacing.
See related: The State of Amherst’s Roads is Fair. Town Faces $42 Million Repair Backlog
He notes that in recent years town contributions have varied between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Local funds have been augmented by roughly $800,000 in annual Chapter 90 funding for public ways from the state. Since 2024 Amherst has also received additional Chapter 90 support averaging about $200,000 from Massachusetts Fair Share apportionments. This level of expenditure typically allows the Department of Public Works (DPW) to repave 2-3 miles of the town’s 104 miles of roadway per year.
Skeels estimates that if Amherst continues to invest this little in road maintenance, the town’s average PCI will fall from 62 to 40 by 2034. This would put Amherst’s average road condition in the ‘very poor” category.
The Town Manager’s FY26 Capital Improvement Program calls for $775,665 to be spent out of Cash Capital for road repair, in line with the historical spending amount. There is hope that a proposed 50% increase in state Chapter 90 funding could bring in an additional $400,000 or so, but this boost is both uncertain and insufficient to meet Amherst’s needs.
Further dimming the prospect for systemwide improvement of Amherst roads is a recently introduced drain on Cash Capital – the Jones Library renovation-expansion project. The Town Council and Town Manager have deemed partially demolishing, renovating and expanding the library at an estimated project cost of $46.1 million to be a priority. Paying back loans for the project has been projected to cost the town $1.25 million in annual tax revenues for the next 20 years.
By comparison, Concord, a town of 18,500 people 75 miles east of Amherst, has 108 miles of road – similar to Amherst’s 104 – and uses the same StreetScan pavement management program. Concord maintains a road condition index of 73, to Amherst’s 62. According to Massachusetts Division of Local Services data, Concord spent $5,203,196 on public works in FY24 while Amherst spent $1,953,234 during the same period.
Still dissatisfied by the condition of its roads, Concord Town Meeting approved a debt exclusion on June 2 that would invest $5.5 million in annual road maintenance for the next five years by a vote of 347-28.
At least the Town will save on new speed bumps!
To refer to Amherst roads as ‘fair’ is fantastical. Horrid would be a more accurate assessment.
And THIS says it all!!
Hey! Steve Kurtz seems to be the one and only one who can put a positive spin on the condition of Amherst roads….
There is little glitz connected with making sure the janitors’ closets and maintenance facilities are stocked and adequately staffed. Ribbon cuttings and ground breakings offer great photo ops all pols love. Patching decrepit roads, not so much. For local politicians, fixing potholes used to be a standard metric of performance. Actually, it still is, and the state of Amherst’s roads indicates a gross misplacement of priorities.
The town has or will soon have a lavishly appointed library, and north town common, and splash pads and playgrounds, and we will all wreck our cars driving to them.
Equally disconcerting, at least to someone who has actually worked on a crew that fixed potholes (as I have, for the National Park Service), is the low quality of the patching that does get done. Cold patch, or low-grade hotmix with large aggregate and relatively little bitumen, thrown into potholes which are not cleaned out and dry and preferably primed with tar or emulsion, which is not level with the road surface and firmly compacted, does not last more than a winter or two. Snow plows and freeze/thaw cycles make short work of the shoddy patches. The poor guys with dayglow vests and shovels who are sent out in all kinds of weather, without the time and proper material and equipment are not to blame. Whoever is supervising the repairs does not have adequate resources, and is either not inspecting and providing guidance for the work as it is done, or simply doesn’t know how to do it.
A quick look at many of the potholes around town show the cumulative effects of poor work. The holes, patched and repatched and patched again, in places have gone through the top coat of asphalt, through the base layer, and are now allowing the exposed substrate to be eroded. Traffic passing over these areas in the rain literally splashes out more substrate, deepening the holes with every storm. Grass has begun to grow in some potholes and road cracks around town, and the roots exacerbate the erosion. Avoiding axel-busting potholes is becoming increasingly difficult for drivers in daylight. In bad weather or at night, these obstacles go from being nuisances to being downright dangerous. And good luck to a cyclist who hits these under any circumstance.
Enough already. Fix the dang roads.
What is interesting is that Hadley gets the same or more traffic on the “alternate” Rte 9 and the roads are in pristine condition. And, the new Hadley library, Senior Center and North Fire Station cost taxpayers a total of $21,000,000! Taxes are one-half ours!
Why do we pay Ritz Carleton prices for Days Inn products?
In answer to Hilda Greenbaum’s question, because we allow vanity projects instead of need based projects.
Certainly a valid question Hilda! Perhaps we should have a forensic accounting of town finances.
In response to Hilda’s question, I’m guessing the tax revenue from businesses in Hadley is at least partially responsible for the better roads. In Amherst, business developments north and south of the town center have helped our tax base, but residents also care about maintaining Amherst’s rural charm, so our business revenue is not likely to rival Hadley‘s. Also, my understanding is that UMass is a drain on our resources without providing tax revenue. It’s a complicated issue, but passable roads are a basic need and should be prioritized.
The reality is that Amherst’s extremely poor and poorly maintained roads say a great deal about the town’s priorities. Many of the roads are atrocious, from main streets to residential side streets to the well traveled route 9, where roads are in atrocious conditions, and only getting worse. It’s frankly unbelievable that basic and essential infrastructure needs, such as maintaining the roads and helping ensure safe travel, are significantly less important than massive library improvements and redesigning the town commons, for instance? Driving through town is a nightmare for both local residents, visitors to Amherst, and those passing through.
I think it’s time for a PROTEST
It’s time for the town to triple the budget for the DPW.
Not everyone uses the library, schools etc but we all use the roads.
We create jobs that are “frivolous” in this Town. Our Schools operate with too much management. The classroom should be the priority. Yet, we are losing so many students to “school choice”.
Something is so wrong.
It’s time to reexamine priorities.
Driving in Amherst has become a nightmare.
Amherst roads have been unsafe for vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian use for many years. The safety of our population should be a top priority of our elected town government, the town manager and the superintendent of public works. Chapter 90, the gas tax allocated by the state based on some factors like road mileage, was the primary source of funding road repair and replacement. Is this still the case? How was that procured? Did Amherst apply for funding under Biden’s infrastructure act? Are there any other programs our town leaders can investigate in order to begin to get the necessary road improvements implemented soon?
There are some state-level programs that Amherst can apply for to receive additional funding for projects that will enhance the safety of roads for all users.
Here is the MassDOT link: https://madothway.my.site.com/GrantCentral/s/
One program, Complete Streets, could be used to address concerns related to sidewalks and bike lanes on Station Road near the rail trail, among other areas where we aim to increase connectivity and safety.
It would be great to know how much Amherst has participated in these programs. My initial impression is that the participation is low.
I also learned earlier in the spring that a majority of the Fair Share funding is allocated to the MBTA and the Boston area. That is another area where advocacy can have a positive impact, leading to the allocation of more resources to our area.
Downtown will be a mess as well . Currently with the dormitory construction , the contractors take a lot of parking from other businesses. A new library , plus demolition of The typewriter shop building. How is this good for the downtowns business ? It’s not .
Let’s ask UMass to add an “Amherst Road Service fee” to every campus parking sticker sold. Or if not an added fee ask to transfer some of those Parking Office monies to Amherst. Funds could help with Amherst road maintenance. It might also encourage more bus travel instead.
Great comment, Kathleen Caroll
Excise taxes on autos are based on where the car is “garaged”. MA doesn’t get any money from vehicles registered out of state, and Amherst gets nothing from vehicles registered in other towns in MA. So Amhert’s 19000 permanent residents are paying for the roads used bytens of thoussands of UMass students.
If Amherst is spending roughly the same amount each year to fix roads with flat state reimbursement, doesn’t this mean less and less is spent on road repair each year given inflation?
Some of the revenues collected for UMass campus parking stickers are sent directly to the PVTA (Pioneer Valley Transit Authority) to partially fund the regional bus system. Hampsire and Amherst College send PVTA money too. The Amherst road maintenance budget deserves a piece of that revenue pie from these schools too. It would be consistent source of funding. Town leaders need to ask for some.
As I read these comments, I am struck by anyone suggesting we need to collect more taxpayer’s money to improve this situation. Instead, learn to do the repair jobs correctly, the first time. In a town where people are required to pay the high property taxes we do, there should not be even one excuse for this mess.
John Varner understands what it takes to repair potholes. Read what he says and have every person who repairs the potholes read it, too. That includes the boss.
After the town has just approved millions and millions of dollars of additional spending this year, perhaps it is time for residents to insist that future spending be greatly reduced.
Our road conditions are so horribly neglected we should all feel embarrassed to have hired or elected people who produce such poor return on our investments.
I believe good roads are essential. Much of the money that has been spent recently has gone to things that are not as essential and suddenly there is little left for our roads. Hopefully , we do not go into another winter season without some resolution to this problem.
Excellent suggestion by @KathleenCarroll to ask UMASS to participate; specifically through a parking pass tax. I hope the town seriously engages with our large university on this. It’s logical and our roads are unsafe… If the town is interested in a bottom line, it won’t be long before lawsuits from drivers blowing out tires, getting an accident, and wrecking cars pile up..
What will it take? lost lives? Expensive lawsuits? The town nor it’s taxpayers can afford that.
Well, maybe instead of throwing money at all these problems the town has. We need to look at who’s in charge of these departments and why they’re so defunctional.
could the town buy a few dozen roundabouts and straighten them out on top of our failed streets?
The quality of the “fixes” tells us that someone doesn’t know how to do the job properly. Not just ROADS—- SIDEWALKS ARE NOT SAFE. My husband broke his hip last July, stepping off the sidewalk in front of Bank of America into a hole in the crosswalk! Intolerable condition. This Town’s priorities must be put to a vote.
We ALL use the roads and sidewalks. I was taught that safety and Security come BEFORE everything else. Maybe we need a taxpayer protest!
Our Senior Center is used for Town service offices. And when our Library reopens as the Town’s Community Center, the Towns aging taxpayers will still be in danger from the poor maintenance of sidewalks and roads.
Speaking of town roads, today I drove west down Amity Street…no detour…yay!
What I wasn’t expecting was a rectangular deficit in the pavement of the travel lane. Whump! Without any orange cone or other indication of the missing asphalt, and while traveling under the speed limit, the passenger side wheels of my “two week old” vehicle went right into it. THIS was unacceptable and avoidable! Get it together Highway Division!
Our DPW can’t maintain our roads because Council has other priorities for our tax dollars. Every bent rim and blown tire should be laid at the doorstep of the Council.
There’s a little crater wedged below the north crosswalk at the northwest corner by the lites at the main intersection. Traffic heading south, on North Pleasant Street, turning right (west) at the green arrow onto Amity Street should swing wide to avoid it or risk losing a tire, even an axle on smaller vehicles.
Amherst should consider the creation of a Stormwater Management Enterprise Fund. There are many instances in Amherst in which deteriorating road conditions are directly linked to insufficient stormwater management. Such an Enterprise Fund would not exempt UMASS and Amherst College and generate revenue to help with stormwater management and related road work. In Northampton, such a fund generates $2 million/year. These funds are becoming increasingly common across MA with many of our surrounding communities having already adopted this model.
What would be the basis for assessments?
Land area owned?
Impervious surface area?
Disturbed (like gravel/furnace-ash covered roads) area?
Total floor area of buildings?
It is my understanding that most calculations for storm water management fees are based on impervious area. The system can be tiered so that large land owners (like UMASS and Amherst College) shoulder more of the fees. I am no expert in this – I just came across the concept while looking at the budgets of other communities to compare to Amherst. Seems worthy of at least looking into given that climate change is likely to bring increasing stormwater management challenges.
at least our roads are not impervious
They calculate (using gps) the square footage of rooftops, driveways, parking lots and all other impervious areas like tennis courts. The funds support sewer and stormwater management infrastructure systems. Does that include roads? Don’t know..That is quite a bit of square footage on the UMass footprint. Other selective land grants pay this fee…but so do residents…ugh. Maybe residents could be exempt from a stormwater fee or at least offered a reduction in the newly implemented 22% water and sewer rate hike because of the new offset revenue generated by charging the schools a stormwater fee?
One could make a case for there being multiple elements in the basis for these assessments.
For example, since larger parcels typically necessitate larger/longer public roadways, they indirectly contribute more “stormwater management” needs, something not captured by the impervious surface area on the parcel itself.
These fees also fail to be “progressive” and so it may be reasonable (as KC hints in her post) to exempt smaller parcels.
(KC also mentions the recent water/sewer rate hikes. Should the “thirstier/$#!+ier” water/sewer users pay “progressively” higher rates? Or should low-level water/sewer users effectively “subsidize” the system during billing periods when their use falls below the “minimum” use amount? Since the latter is the current billing system in Amherst, the fee/tax system for this essential public service, arguably regressive — and it creates disincentives for water concervation!)
I’m a financial planner. Since buying our house in 1984, our taxes have more than tripled–way above the inflation rate. At the same time, the tax base in Amherst has increased significantly–I’m guessing 20%. So where’s the money??? Some years ago I was asked to serve on the Town Finance Committee–I declined because they met 3 hours per week to come up with the crap they come up with–rotaries and sharpened granite curbs …Unfreakingreal!
From the Twon Council:
Policy Goals:
1. Climate Action: To continue to make progress on the Council’s Climate Action Goals guided by
the Climate Action, Adaptation, and Resilience Plan (CAARP) to prepare the Town to be
resilient in the face of climate change
2. Community Health, Community Safety, & Social Justice: To ensure the health and safety of
the residents of Amherst and continue making advances in racial equity and social justice
3. Housing & Economic Vitality: To ensure the present and future economic well-being of the
Town and ensure access to safe, affordable and attainable housing for low- and moderate-income
residents, as set forth in the Town Council’s Comprehensive Housing Policy.
Management Goals:
4. Administration & Leadership: Effectively and appropriately administer the operations and
finances of Town pursuant to the Home Rule Charter, ensure the Town’s strong financial and
fiscal health, and effectively develop, supervise and manage the Town’s workforce, fostering a
proactive anti-racist culture throughout town departments.
5. Town Council, Community, & Strategic Relationships: To maintain, develop, and increase
positive relationships and communications with the Town Council, residents, and local and state
entities.
6. Infrastructure Management, Maintenance, and Land Stewardship: To maintain and manage
the Town’s capital and public assets.
Carefully presented by the council in “alphabetical order”. It would be interesting to ask them to prioritize the list, which is often necessary in cases when iseveral important objectives compete for a limited amoutn of money …the evidence suggests that the infrastructure issues would still be # 6.