MANSFIELD — The city will spend nearly $10 million in street repaving and water main replacements in 2026, using money approved by voters specifically for those purposes.
City Council approved the projects Tuesday after meeting with city engineer Bob Bianchi.
The unanimous votes for each came after Bianchi laid out plans for both programs, which will use income tax funds from the long-standing Pothole Haters Tax and the Water Main Initiative approved by voters in 2024.
Each of the quarter-percent income tax issues brings in around $4.8 million annually. Both are four-year levies that must be renewed by voters to be continued.
Bianchi said the city will resurface 22.06 miles of city streets at an estimated cost of $4.9 million. It’s the 42nd year of the annual program.
He also told council the city will replace 3.43 miles of aging, four-inch water mains this year with new eight-inch lines, totaling about 18,000 square feet. That work, which will include 30 new fire hydrants, has an estimated price tag of $4.7 million, he said.
(Below is a PDF showing the streets scheduled to be resurfaced in Mansfield in 2026.)
Bianchi said the city will do some things differently in the street program in 2026, which will be in addition to the traditional resurfacing efforts.
“We’ve seen situations where somebody will complain about a roadway. They believe it to be in horrible condition. But 95 percent of that road is in good condition … but there’s that one pothole, there’s that one utility trench in the roadway that’s failing … kind of like a fly in the ointment,” the engineer said.
“The perception is that the entire roadway is bad when it’s not. We just need to do that one patch. So this year, we’ve identified 53 of those locations throughout the city, whereby they’re going to come in and mill down over the patch.
“Most of the time it’s concrete or failing concrete … they will mill that out and put two inches of asphalt back into it. So we’re just trying to fix those isolated areas,” he said.
He said the city will focus on 38 areas associated with water main issues, eight associated with storm sewer work and seven just in need of street repair.
In addition, the city will repave Fox Glen Trail in 2026, using $65,000 raised in private funds by Dave Damron and the Richland Community Development Group.
Fox Glen, located just north of Straub Road West, is “a serene, wooded loop where you can immerse yourself in nature and spot a variety of wildlife, such as deer, birds, and squirrels. Along the trail, you’ll find benches perfectly placed for moments of rest and reflection. Spanning 3/4 of a mile, this popular path welcomes people of all ages and abilities, including walkers, families, seniors, kids, joggers, bicyclists, wheelchair users, and even cross-country skiers.”
Once bids for the work are accepted and a contractor is selected, Bianchi said road resurfacing would begin in May and likely be done in October.
Residents can learn more about the road resurfacing project and follow its progress by visiting the engineer’s website here.
(Below is an illustration showing water main replacements in Mansfield planned for 2026. Those areas are marked in yellow. The areas in the darker colors were done in 2025.)
Bianchi told lawmakers his department looked for “low-hanging fruit” in deciding where to focus water main replacement work in 2026 — i.e. the best bang for the buck.
“We look at this in terms of density of residential neighborhoods, any significant landmark spots or places of interest. That is, if we replace this 4-inch main with this 8-inch main here and it’s connected to a good good main on both sides, that’s low hanging fruit,” he said.
“We don’t have to continue replacing to get to a good main to connect into,” the engineer said.
“We’ve got like 40 something miles of water line that needs replaced (in the city),” he said. “So these first few years, it’s we’re getting low hanging fruit in the best place we think we can get replaced.”
He pointed out fire hydrants tested in areas where mains were replaced during 2025 in the first year of the program revealed significant improvements.
“The first hydrant that was ever replaced had a pre-construction volume of 444 gallons per minute. Post-construction, it was 1,525 gallons per minute, a significant improvement,” he said.
Bianchi also urged residents to visit the portion of the engineer’s website dealing with water main replacement by clicking here.
With council’s approval, the city will now seek bids and select a contract for the project.