Copperas Cove Develops First Five-Year Street Maintenance Program With $1.2M Annual Budget

Scott Osburn, Copperas Cove's Public Works Director, told city staff and reporters Thursday that the city has contracted Halff Associates to build its first Five-Year Street Maintenance Program, a data-driven plan that will direct between $1.2 million and $1.5 million in annual spending across 158 miles of city-owned roads.

The program, developed in partnership with Halff Associates engineer Dr. Roshani Hossein, PE, will use existing pavement condition data and current funding projections to determine which streets get repaired and in what order. Osburn said the plan will account for current street conditions, planned Capital Improvement Projects, available funding sources, and travel demand on individual roadways to produce a prioritized, implementable project list for each fiscal year.

Since the street maintenance utility fee took effect January 1, 2026, the city has collected approximately $350,000. Residential accounts carry a $10 monthly charge; non-residential properties are billed on a tiered scale based on their expected traffic contribution. That revenue stream, alongside related funding sources, is projected to sustain the plan's annual implementation budget.

The SMP will cover only the city's 158 miles of centerline roads. State-maintained corridors, including portions of U.S. 190, FM 1113, and FM 116, fall entirely outside its scope.

Halff Associates previously completed a pavement condition assessment for the city between 2021 and 2022, producing baseline rankings and cost estimates that the new program will update. That prior working relationship informed the decision to re-engage the firm for program design and prioritization.

Completion of the SMP is scheduled for late June 2026. Once the city council accepts the plan, engineering design will proceed, with the first construction phase estimated to begin between September and November 2026. City staff acknowledged that residents who have seen little visible street work since January should expect that delay: design, competitive bidding, and contractor mobilization each require several months before pavement work actually begins.

The plan will include engineering cost estimates for each repair type, allowing staff to sequence smaller, high-impact fixes alongside larger rehabilitation projects. Copperas Cove's heavy commuter traffic tied to Fort Cavazos places sustained pressure on local pavement, and the new program represents the first time the city has tied a dedicated revenue stream to a structured, multi-year repair sequence. Project maps, public notices, and bid advertisements are expected to follow council acceptance later this summer.