CHICAGO — Seeking to remedy a scourge of potholes from a record winter, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a plan to resurface 13 more miles of arterials streets Sunday.
The mayor has pledged to fix a total of 346 miles of damaged streets. Last month he said 15 more miles would be repaved at a cost of $22 million, with $8 million coming from Tax Increment Financing funds and $14 million from a state grant.
The project announced Sunday will cost $15 million, the city said, and will be paid for with surplus funding from federal grants.
"We are increasing our workload, once again, to further combat the pothole-filled condition of many of Chicago's arterial streets caused by the extremely harsh winter weather," Emanuel said in a statement.
The mayor has promised to crack down on potholes, holding contractors accountable for fixes that fall into disrepair. The Department of Transportation is performing an audit of arterial streets that were repaired last year.
He announced earlier this year crews would work to fix potholes seven days a week through the end of this month.
In January, the city unveiled an online pothole tracker so residents could see where crews have repaved damaged streets.
The city said these repaving projects will "provide flexibility for CDOT to respond more quickly to deal with the effects one of the worst winters in history."
A city program that reimburses drivers for damaged caused by potholes saw a record number of claims this month, with more than 1,100 drivers submitting damage reports.
