Austin Boulevard – between Lake Street and North Avenue – is one of Chicago’s main arterial routes that city officials have slated to be resurfaced this year.
The Chicago Department of Transportation announced this week that it has identified the first 45 miles of arterial streets scheduled to be resurfaced in 2019, Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said in a statement.
In all, the city expects to pave 315 miles of streets in 2019, up from 310 miles in 2018. City officials have identified the first 100 miles of residential and arterial paving locations. Repaving will begin as soon as weather allows and the asphalt plants re-open.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has also directed CDOT to assign more crews to pothole patching after an unusually hard winter.
“We’ve made great progress repairing the condition of our roadways over the last eight years, repaving more than 2,160 miles of streets all across Chicago,” Emanuel said in a statement. “But we know this harsh winter season has taken a toll. And that’s why we are setting a high bar for this repaving season …”
The repaving work will be done by the CDOT and the Chicago Department of Water Management, along with sister agencies and utility companies that pave roads after completing utility improvements.
In addition to the major arterial roadways CDOT plans to resurface this year, it has also identified residential streets and alleys for resurfacing this construction season. Officials are working with the aldermen to determine the best locations for resurfacing additional residential streets.
Since paving cannot start until next month, CDOT is working is working with its unions to increase the number of employees working on pothole repairs.
Starting this week, there will be an additional 26 workers on seven new pothole crews. That will bring to the total number of crews working on multiple shifts, including weekends and overnights, to at least 35 on weekdays.
Some of the other main arterial routes slated for resurfacing so far in 2019 include:
- Long, Cortez, Iowa – Division/Central, Long (1 mile)
- Sheridan Road – from Devon Avenue to Touhy Avenue (1 mile)
- Broadway – Gunnison Street to Foster Avenue (.65 miles)
- Foster Avenue – East River Road to Harlem Avenue (2 miles)
- Dearborn Street – Madison Street to Polk Street (.65 miles)
- Kedzie Avenue – Jackson Avenue to Ogden Avenue (1.35 miles)
- 31st Street – Lawndale Avenue to Western Avenue (1.7 miles)
- 51st Street – Millard Ave. to Kedzie Avenue (.57 miles)
- Lafayette Avenue – Marquette Road to 79th Street (1.50 miles)
- 119th Street – Ashland Avenue to Halsted Street (1 mile)