October 16, 2026

• Friday Thoughts
• October 15 Metro Council Meeting Recap
• Pop-Up Drop-Off Tomorrow
• Planning & Zoning Committee's Data Center Schedule
• Office of Planning Weekly Activity Report
• BOZA Hearing - 12606 Saint Clair Drive

Friday Thoughts

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week and are gearing up for the fall season finally arriving this weekend!

Today, I want to focus my comments on a topic I get asked about frequently - paving. People sometimes ask how we decide which roads get paved, why only some sections get done and not others, who's responsible for their road, and what projects are coming up? I want to shed a little light on this topic today with the caveat that I'll speak in generalizations to some degree so there will likely be specific roads or circumstances with minor differences in approach.

Roads in Jefferson County largely fall into one of four categories: state roads, Louisville Metro roads, suburban city roads (paved by the respective suburban city) and private roads (paved by those who live on that road). For our roads, Metro Public Works assigns each one a quality rating (from 0-100) based on an assessment they've done. Once the level of funding allocated in the budget is known, MPW is then able to pave a portion of those needing attention, largely based on those ratings. From there, we build out a three-year plan that maps out the general direction of paving for the coming years. You can access that information via the Louisville Metro Paving Map available here.

For the past several years, we have funded paving at $30 Mm annually. This level allows us to execute a multi-year plan to bring all roads up to an acceptable rating and then maintain that level county-wide (theoretically for less than $30 Mm/year, not counting inflation). There is some additional nuance here - we also try to make sure there is at least some level of equity in how these funds are spent. In other words, if the worst roads are all in one part of the county, we don’t just repave those and ignore the roads elsewhere until they fall into disrepair. We spread the money out across the county, with a heavier concentration - but not the entirety - going to the worst roads.

There are other factors at play as well. Let's say a road is in disrepair and scheduled to be repaved. If a nearby road is right on the line or even a bit above in terms of its condition, we might go ahead and repave it early to save on the mobilization costs of sending crews back out a year or two later. This isn’t an exact science, of course, as there is a balance to strike between how much functional life is still left in the road against the cost to re-mobilize crews in the distant future (as well as what other nearby roads might be scheduled for repair soon).

Even when we pave a road, we don’t necessarily pave the whole thing. When roads, particularly longer ones, are rated during the assessment mentioned above, they are done in sections. We try to be good stewards of tax dollars and get as much life out of the asphalt as possible rather than digging up sections estimated to have multiple years of life left. Recent projects in Craigs Creek and along Goose Creek Road are good examples of this. 

In addition to the general budget appropriation mentioned earlier, Metro Council offices get district-specific discretionary and infrastructure funding to deploy as they see fit. While these dollars are significantly more limited than the amounts at play in the general budget, they can help augment or move up what Public Works might have planned. As an example, Wooded Oak Circle (the portion north of Halifax Drive) was on the three-year plan and scheduled to be resurfaced in FY29. We were able to pair some dollars from our district's infrastructure fund with some money leftover from previous Public Works related projects to move Wooded Oak to FY27's list (which seems more efficient when you consider a portion of Halifax Drive was already on that list).   

If you have a section of roadway that you believe needs to be repaired, let us know. We will gladly add it to the list for consideration from either the general paving plan or Council directed funds. Of course, if you have any questions about the process itself, feel free to let me know that as well. 

As always, I hope you have a great weekend. If my office can be of any service, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Contact the District 17 Office

Markus Winkler
17th District Councilman
Louisville Metro Council
502.574.1117
Contact Councilman Winkler

Kip Eatherly
Legislative Aide
502.574.3462
Contact Kip

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Important Numbers

Animal Services  473-7387
Charmoli NP  574-5787
Codes & Regulations  574-2508
EACM  426-2824
Health & Wellness  574-6520
Jefferson Co. Clerk  574-5700
KY Science Center  561-6100
LG&E  589-1444
LMPD (8th Division)  574-2258
Louisville Water  583-6610
Louisville Zoo  459-2181
Mayor's Office  574-2003
Middletown Library  245-7332
MSD  540-6000
NE Regional Library  394-0379
Parks & Recreation  574-7275
Planning & Design  574-6230
Public Works  574-5810
TARC  585-1234