City Crews Get Started Early On Resurfacing City Streets
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Although it might be hard to tell on a day when temperatures are stuck in the upper 30s, a relatively mild start to the year has led to an earlier paving season in Chicago.
The Chicago Department of Transportation has released a map of the first 55 miles of streets that will be resurfaced this year.
On Monday, crews had already begun removing the existing surface pavement along Caldwell Avenue, which will be resurfaced between Cicero and Devon avenues. Crews also had started work on repaving Halsted Street between 33rd and 41st Streets.
Last year, CDOT resurfaced nearly 300 miles of city streets. This year, they aim to repave a little more than that.
CDOT Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said pothole complaints were down 30 percent compared to last year.
"Due to Chicago's weather system, potholes are always going to be a challenge, because of the freeze-thaw action. So, for any Midwestern city, this requires an aggressive paving program, and we are doing that, and we also are taking proactive steps to make sure that we are doing other preventive maintenance to extend the life of our streets," she said.
Scheinfeld said warmer temperatures to start the year allowed asphalt plants to begin producing hot asphalt by the end of March, about two to four weeks earlier than normal.
In all, CDOT has paved more than 25 percent of the city's streets over the past four years, according to Scheinfeld.