April 16, 2014

Mayor Emanuel Kicks Off 2014 Street Resurfacing Program

Nearly 350 Miles of Chicago Streets to be Resurfaced This Year

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today visited the Englewood neighborhood to kick-off the 2014 arterial street repaving program. The 6300 block of South Ashland is the first city street being resurfaced this year.

“This year, we will repave more streets than in past years, increasing our workload to further combat the pothole-filled condition of many of Chicago’s arterial streets caused by the extremely harsh winter weather,” Mayor Emanuel said. “With this investment to improve our infrastructure, we are Building a New Chicago and improving the quality of life in every community.”

Earlier this month, the mayor announced that City agencies and private utilities plan to resurface a total of nearly 350 miles of arterial and neighborhood streets and alleys in 2014.

In Mayor Emanuel’s first term in office, nearly a quarter of Chicago’s 4,600 miles of streets will have been resurfaced. Under the mayor’s Building a New Chicago infrastructure investment program, the Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Department of Water Management (DWM), private contractors and utilities will have resurfaced more than 1,000 miles of streets of streets from 2011 through 2014 (155 miles in 2011; 269 miles in 2012; 290 miles in 2013; and 346 miles in 2014).

DWM plans to increase their workload in 2014, to installing 85 miles of new water mains, 21 miles of new sewer mains, relining 51 miles of sewer mains, and install 15,000 new water meters. DWM will also repave 133 miles of roadway. The first repaving project is following the completion of sewer upgrade in the 6300 block of South Ashland.

In 2014, CDOT plans to repave nearly 100 miles of arterial streets, 90 miles of residential streets and five miles of alleys. Gas, electric and telecommunication utilities are expected to repave 20 miles of streets as part of their infrastructure work.

With better coordination on infrastructure improvement projects through CDOT’s Project Management Office, both departments and the utilities worked together to reduce the amount of project conflicts that would open up a street more than once. Last year, the City realized a savings of approximately $14 million through the coordination of projects with utilities and the requirements that they fully restore the roadways after their construction projects.

 Click here to view the 2014 Street Resurfacing Plan

# # #