
Lexington enjoys a cherished place American history for the “shot heard round the world.” The town’s Battle Green is the site of the first armed conflict between American Minutemen and British soldiers. Every year, several hundred thousand tourists visit the community to learn more about the American Revolution. The Town of Lexington covers 16.5 square miles with a network consisting of 284 lane miles of residential, main, sub-main and collector streets.
Prior to 2010, Lexington’s average road condition was scored at a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 68. The town used three primary treatments: Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) mill-and-fill, Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) and with what little money was left over, crack seal. Citizens and visitors were complaining about road conditions and the department had a repair backlog of more than $20 million.
"The less you have, the more critical it is to really stretch your dollars and make sure that the better condition roads just do not slip."
John Livsey, P.E.
Under the direction of Town Engineer John Livsey, P.E., Lexington instituted a top of the curve preventative maintenance approach with the ambitious goal of attaining an average PCI in the mid-80s.
“If you have less money, if your budget is being cut, or even just not being increased, it's the best time to perform preservation," explained Lexington's Livsey. "The less you have, the more critical it is to really stretch your dollars and make sure that the better condition roads just do not slip."
Operating with principles of “the right treatment, on the right road, at the right time,” Mr. Livsey has expanded the town’s road maintenance toolbox to eight applications, including crack seal, fog seals and rejuvenators, micro surfacing, cape seals, 1.5- to 2-inch HMA Thinlays, HMA mill-and-fill, cold-in-place recycling and FDR.
This strategy ensures the town deploys the appropriate application as an asphalt pavement deteriorates. Conditions are estimated using a Pavement Management System and the engineers work with contractors onsite to fine-tune the applications.
The town’s efforts have yielded dramatic results since 2010. They’ve added net gains of new service life to the network for the past four years, while more than halving the network’s backlog of required repairs. The network’s average PCI has jumped to 85 in 2020. And the percentage of roads with less favorable conditions has dropped from 39% in 2010 to just 15% in 2020.
Another crucial part of Lexington’s success is the town’s proactive approach to communicating with residents. More than telling taxpayers where and when road projects are taking place, they explain what the project entails and why it’s being done. They send letters, post signs on roads, and announce updates on social media.
This year, the engineering department revealed that the system was so successful, they could cut their budget by $1.2 million per year and still maintain the high road quality. But with residents overwhelmingly supportive of the road program, Lexington’s leaders opted to keep the original budget.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Livsey and the town of Lexington were presented with the 2020 James B. Sorenson Award for Excellence by FP2 (Foundation for Pavement Preservation). The Sorenson Award is presented by FP2 to recognize superior pavement preservation practice, usually to a city, township, county or state agency.
The Lexington program is a great model for achieving astounding success in a relatively short amount of time.
It actually pretty simple. I just took a regular household nail and clipped it a bit to make it shorter since it was pretty long. I used a drill bit that was just barely smaller than the head and put a shallow hole, about 2.5mm, in the lid of the box. I pushed the nail head in that hole and set it as straight as I could and dabbed some epoxy to fill the rest of the hole and hold it in place. On the box I drilled another hole that was the size of the shank of the nail. When the epoxy was mostly set but still a little soft I put the nail into the hole and made sure it was set at a good angle to keep the openings flush. Since it is just the nail dropped in to a similar sized hole it has a bit of resistance but is very easy to turn and can be pulled straight off to remove it.

The magnets give it enough strength despite their tiny size to keep it aligned and closed even with some pretty good shakes with your hand.I've been to Tokyo 6 times and usually staying about a month so I decided it is time I share my favorite TOP 10 Must-Eat foods in Tokyo including the best sushi, the best ramen and the best Japanese sweets.
I visit Tokyo almost every year due to my obsession with Japanese culture, food, language and all the amazing friends I made throughout the past decade thus I feel like I can make this TOP 10 must-eat foods with confidence to make sure your next trip to Tokyo will be a foody-loaded adventure.
There are many sushi restaurants in Japan but in my honest opinion nothing beats the sushi chain Sushi Zanmai. This chain can be found all over Japan and over the best sushi for the best price.
I always order the deluxe sushi set after arriving in Japan, for just 3000 yen, $27 USD, you'll feast on a mouthwatering sushi set including blue fin tuna, saltwater eel, shrimp and sea urchin.
Since the Tsukiji inner fish market closed, you can still enjoy the Tsukiji outer market where you can still run into public tuna cutting. Two other major items you have to buy at the Tsukiji outer market are the Japanese custard mochi ball which is a sticky rice ball treat and the bizarre sea urchin bamboo-charcoal bun (uniman) from Hamada Shoten.
It was a total coincidence running into famous YouTube star John Daub from the show ONLY in Japan. An incredible show about everything Japan with over 1 million subscribers. John was live streaming the closure of the Tsukiji inner fish market and asking the locals their thoughts on the relocation to Toyosu.High school and middle school students honored for academic achievements and accomplishments.
The winners of the Shirley O. Nelson Scholarship Awards went to Landon Johnson of Westfield High and Kiayana Reed of Chantilly High. The winners of the Cameron Guy Dudley Book Scholarship Awards went to Cara Clay of Westfield High and Kevin Orozco of Centreville High. Photo by Steve Hibbard.
See more minority student awards photos on Facebook.
For the 32nd year, the Chantilly Pyramid Minority Student Achievement Committee held its Youth Motivation and Academic Achievement Awards on Saturday, June 4 at Chantilly High School. In front of its largest, standing-room only crowd, students from several high schools and middle schools were honored for their excellent academic achievements and accomplishments during the 2015-16 school year.
The plaques and trophies were awarded for Commit-to-Excel, Honors GPA, High GPA, Honor Grand, Grand Award, Humanitarian Award, Senior Class Award, Academic Awards and Special Awards. Students from the following high schools were honored: Centreville High, Chantilly High, Oakton High, Westfield High and Mountain View High schools. The middle school students were from: Rachel Carson Middle, Rocky Run Middle, Liberty Middle, Ormond Stone Middle, Franklin Middle and Lanier Middle. This year's theme was "The Pursuit of Excellence — Students, Parents, and Schools — Let's Just Do It."
Dr. Johnny Nelson, who serves as CPMSAC president, said: "We've been in operation for over 30 years and we've seen this program grow. Fairfax County has grown in diversity and that diversity is shown right here. The Chantilly Pyramid is about motivating students. This program started by emphasizing closing the achievement gaps with other students, blacks and Hispanics."
Sylvester "Sye" Smith was honored during the ceremony on his recent retirement from BAE Systems after 46.9 years; 17.5 years of military service; and 33.5 years of service to CPMSAC.
Keynote Speaker Matthew Harris, a senior at Westfield High School, told the crowd that you have two choices as you get older: Option 1 is to complain and Option 2 is to change your mentality. "At the end of the day, everything boils down to individual focus," he said. "You have to realize that it all starts in the mind, so you have to minimize distractions; and select your friends carefully because not everybody's going to support your vision."
He added: "School comes first, and after that, put time into your passions, into your dream. Put time into bettering yourselves … It's all about balance. You have to be able to balance your time if you want to be successful... Excellence is a choice; choose to free yourself from mediocrity. Start living your excellent life on purpose."
InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort – Sumptuous facilities, romantic bungalows, gorgeous beach, and yet oh-so convenient.
Located along a cove of snow-white sand and sapphire-green waters, the InterContinental offers bungalows on the sand or perched above the water – and the eye-catching setting is enhanced further by the mountainous backdrop. All bungalows are distant from neighbors and Polynesian in design, with thatched roofs, but also