COLUMBIA, If you've rattled your suspension on a pothole recently and wondered whether anyone at City Hall noticed, here's your answer: they're now using LiDAR to find out exactly how bad it is. The City of Columbia has launched a comprehensive Pavement Management and Preservation Program, partnering with Alfred Benesch and Company and its subconsultant Citylogix to assess every one of the city's 235 centerline miles of roadway with high-resolution imaging and 360-degree data collection. The goal is a long-term, prioritized maintenance strategy that gets the right repairs done in the right order, before small problems become expensive ones.
The program takes a pavement preservation approach, meaning the emphasis is on extending the life of roads that are still in reasonable shape rather than waiting for them to fail completely and then paying far more to rebuild them. It's the same logic a good homeowner applies to a roof: a coat of sealant costs a fraction of a full replacement, and it works far better if you do it before the leaks start. Mayor Chaz Molder framed the investment plainly, saying that investing in infrastructure is investing in the future of Columbia, and that the city is putting the right tools in place to make decisions that will benefit residents for years to come.
Data collection began in April and is scheduled to continue through December, with the final Pavement Management Plan expected to be delivered by the end of 2026. The plan will include budget scenarios, standardized specifications for future projects, and community education materials to help residents understand how repair priorities are determined. City Manager Tony Massey noted that reliable data and advanced analytics will allow the city to prioritize projects more effectively and extend the life of its roadway system.
For taxpayers who have watched road projects stall or seen money spent on patches that don't hold, this kind of systematic approach is exactly what accountability looks like. A city that knows the condition of every road it owns is a city that can defend its spending decisions and plan ahead rather than react to crises. The final plan will be a public document, and residents should expect to see it presented to city leadership before the end of the year.