A road with potholes and cracks may seem like an obvious candidate for repaving. But in Citrus County, roads that look the worst are not necessarily the ones that will receive work first.
In 2026, Citrus County implemented a new data-driven pavement management system to determine how to spend limited road funding across the nearly 2,000 miles of roadway it maintains. Instead of simply repaving the roads in the worst condition, officials say the goal is to preserve as much of the road network as possible before more expensive repairs become necessary.
Here’s how the process works.
How does Citrus County determine the condition of its roads?
In the past, county employees drove the roads themselves, took pictures and evaluated their condition using a scoring system, Public Works Director Carlton Hall said. The county primarily relied on milling away old asphalt and paving the road again.
After looking at pavement management programs used by other communities, Citrus County began using a more detailed system. The county uses ICC, a data collection company, to scan its roads with lasers that evaluate factors including asphalt condition and rutting, potholes and previous pothole patches, Hall said.
The collected information is then processed using Trimble’s Agile Assets pavement management software. The county also works with engineering agency Mott MacDonald to analyze the data and help inform future road decisions.
One measurement officials use is the Pavement Condition Index, or PCI, Assistant Public Works Director Steven “Mitch” Eakin said. The index rates pavement condition on a scale from 0 to 100, with 0 representing failed pavement and 100 representing excellent condition. Officials use those scores, along with available funding and repair options, to help decide which roads need work.
Does the worst road get fixed first?
Not necessarily.
Eakin said the county has moved away from a “worst first” approach. Instead, the software considers road conditions, available funding and the type of treatment that could extend each road's useful life.
Eakin compared road maintenance to maintaining a house, explaining that painting a house regularly is less expensive than waiting until the siding needs to be replaced.
The same principle applies to roads. Treating a road before it reaches severe deterioration can prevent the county from having to completely rebuild it later.
Eakin said full-depth reclamation, which involves rebuilding a road, can cost as much as $1.2 million per mile.
The county now uses several types of road treatments instead of relying only on traditional milling and paving, including methods that help preserve roads before they need major repairs.
Eakin described the strategy as “the right treatment on the right road at the right time.”
How much roadwork is Citrus County completing?
Citrus County is responsible for maintaining about 1,977 miles of roadway.
County officials said approximately 174.6 miles received work between 2023 and 2025. In 2026, after implementing the new pavement management approach, the county worked on approximately 131.6 miles. Officials said that represented 83% more mileage in one year than the amount addressed during the previous three years.
The county has budgeted to rescan its road network using the same process this fiscal year to evaluate the work completed in recent years and get an updated look at its overall pavement condition. Officials said road conditions can change because of factors including population growth, hurricanes, construction and traffic.
How much does Citrus County spend on its roads?
Funding remains the county's biggest challenge.
Hall said Citrus County collects approximately $8.8 million to $9.2 million annually in gas tax revenue, which supports more than resurfacing. The money also helps pay for road maintenance work such as pothole repairs, roadside work and tree trimming.
Hall said the county has put about $37 million toward resurfacing over the past four years.
But officials say the need is much greater.
Hall estimated the county would need about $35 million annually to maintain its current level of service. It is currently receiving roughly $16 million to $18 million per year, he said.
He estimated Citrus County faces a roughly $700 million backlog to bring its roads to what he described as “good” condition.
Why doesn't a treated road always look newly paved?
This is one of the biggest sources of confusion among residents, Hall said.
Residents may expect roadwork to result in completely new, smooth pavement. But some of the county's newer methods are preservation treatments, designed to extend the life of existing pavement rather than replace it.
Those treatments can also take time to finish.
Hall said cracks may be sealed before another treatment is applied about 30 days later, and a road may be swept five to seven times before the work is considered complete. What residents see halfway through that process, he said, may look very different from the finished road.
Rachel Harrolle, a Citrus County resident who also works as an administrative assistant for the county's Public Works Department, has watched the process on roads leading to her home in the Pine Ridge area.
Harrolle said those roads previously had potholes and cracks. During the preservation process, loose gravel remained on the roadway while the treatment cured before the road was later swept.
Since the work was completed, Harrolle said the potholes are gone and the road provides a more even ride, though some loose gravel may temporarily remain.
What can residents do if their road needs work?
Residents who notice a road problem can submit a request through Citrus County's service portal.
Requests can include potholes and other road issues, as well as problems such as trees that need trimming, damaged stop signs or culverts that need to be cleaned. Officials said those requests are tracked and can help the county see which problems happen often.
But a complaint does not necessarily mean a road will be completely repaved. Larger pavement decisions still depend on the road's condition, the pavement management system and the amount of funding available.
Harrolle said residents may need to adjust their expectations.
“Why mill and pave this out?” Harrolle said. “If we just do this treatment and it’s going to last another five to 10 years, why would we want to spend the money?”