If roads in the city of Auburn were judged on an academic scale, they would receive a "C."

The city engineering department assessed the state of the roads this summer through a road surface management system program, which gives an empirical number rating - a pavement condition index - to each road. The average pavement condition index among all the city's roads was 76.6.

"If we want to bring our roads up to a 'B', we'd have to allocate more funds," said Bruce Ross, assistant civil engineer with the city. But he added that under the same assessment "some cities would be failing."

"If you drive outside the city (in rural areas) you can appreciate the city roads," Ross said.

Comparing the roads to a different region like the Midwest, Ross said, would not be equitable, since central New York receives more snow. Standing water can cause serious damage to the roads - when water gets into cracks, it can soften the sub-base and make the road more vulnerable to heavy traffic.

In the past, the department determined which roads needed attention by dividing the city into four quadrants and sending four people out to assess each quadrant. The new management system provides a less subjective assessment by assigning numerical values to the road condition and also provides a five-year plan. The department had a summer intern perform the work this summer, but Ross said individuals in the department would have to continue with the program.

The budget for the 2005 road program was $950,000. In order for the city to achieve an average pavement condition index of 80, the road program budget would have to be as high as $3.1 million, according to the management system assessment.

Since that level of funding isn't realistic for Auburn, Ross said the best way for the city to maintain roads is to keep up with regular repairs before deterioration becomes too drastic, as is the case with East Genesee Street.

Beverly Opdycke is one of many Auburn residents eagerly awaiting the completion of the East Genesee Street project. Opdycke said she was happy the city patched the road up to Morris Street, but was discouraged when they didn't continue with the rest of the road.

"I couldn't understand why they couldn't patch the rest of it," she said. "This city is really patch city."

Opdycke has lived along Genesee Street her entire life, and the amount of truck traffic has increased with time, leading not only to more noise, but further damage along the roads.

"The traffic right now is just unbelievable," she said. "It definitely is just tearing up the street."

The design for the East Genesee reconstruction, which will be similar to the project done on West Genesee, got necessary approval from the State Historic Preservation Office last week, said City Manager John Salomone. After receiving approval from the state, the city will be able to go out to bid on the state-funded project.

Since it's already so late into the construction season, Salomone said it's likely that construction for the project, which includes about a mile and a half of road, will begin this spring and last until the following spring.

Many city streets, however, don't require major reconstructions. The city has done routine repairs on streets like South Street, which just went through a major state-funded reconstruction in 2000, even though other roads are in worse shape, in order to prevent problems from worsening and to save the city money in the long run, Ross said.

"We would be nipping in the bud any construction on a large scale," he said. "What is important to do is to keep up the routine maintenance. It pays for us to do preventative maintenance."

Preventive maintenance could be anything from crack sealing to minor or extensive patching. Rather than doing entire reconstructions, the city does scaled-down repairs for many roads to stretch the funds further to be able to focus on a greater number of streets.

"The cost has increased so much that it's no longer cost effective," Ross said, of major reconstructions. "(Doing a major reconstruction) will eat up a big portion of the budget. You'll get a small portion of the whole entire road program done."

The city was ready to do extensive patching along the Arterial last year before the state expressed its intentions to take over the resurfacing project being undertaken now. Ross said the $40,000 necessary for the patching was used for roads on the waiting list for the road program.

The management system program found that with a $950,000 road budget, the city would be able to focus on 6.1 centerline miles of roads each year - at that rate, it would take 16 years to complete all city roads. On average, roads should be repaired every eight to 12 years.

Thus, the patching along many city roads is a way to do away with potentially hazardous driving situations, without doing full-fledged reconstructions.

"It's kind of like putting a Band-Aid over an old wound," Ross said.

A road like Columbus Street, which sits on top of a major sewer line in the city, would require a more massive reconstruction, however, which is why the city is waiting to do any repairs.

"It's not quite a hazard yet. It's a rough ride," Ross said. "If we're going to repair it, then we're going to be tearing up a significant part of the road."

In that case, until a major reconstruction can be budgeted for, any road repairs along the street, which is also subject to heavy traffic, have to wait.

Francis Healey, of Auburn, who has lived all over central New York, said he believes with the amount of truck traffic that comes through the city, it would be helpful to have alternate roads to take some of the heavy traffic off roads like Columbus or East Genesee, where he lives. But Healey said considering the limited resources available, he believes the city's roads are holding up well.

"(The Department of Public Works) is doing an excellent job for what they have," Healey said. "The volume (of traffic) is heavy. I'm surprised the roads have held up as well as they have."

Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net