AUBURN GRESHAM — The city is getting an earlier start on repaving streets this year thanks to a mild winter, officials said Monday.
The milder weather meant fewer potholes to be patched, which allowed the Chicago Department of Transportation to get crews started on repaving the city's streets earlier than usual, city officials said.
The city on Monday used a repaving project in the 8300 block of South Kerfoot Avenue in Auburn Gresham to herald the start of the annual work.
Here's CDOT paving a street in Auburn Gresham. pic.twitter.com/1GJi7ypwzr
— Evan F. Moore (@evanFmoore) May 23, 2016
Randy Conner, first deputy commissioner of the transportation department, said he met with elected officials such as Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) to see which neighborhoods in the city needed repaving the most.
"Thanks to improved coordination with the alderman, we ware able to hit the ground running at the start of paving season," said Randy Conner, first deputy commissioner of the transportation department. "We also saw that fewer potholes this winter, and this allowed us to turn our attention earlier in the season from patching to paving."
Since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took over in 2011, more than a quarter of the city's streets have been repaved due to an effort between city departments to coordinate work on city streets at the same time rather doing multiple projects on the same street. The group effort has saved the city $73 million since 2012, city officials said.
Conner asked for city residents to be patient as streets are being updated. He also said that city residents should expect to see "No Parking" signs one or two days before the repaving begins.
Creating a smooth surface to repave the streets usually takes less than 24 hours, city officials said.
Cathy Thomas sat on her porch on Kerfoot watching workers pave the street. Thomas says that she's been in Brookins' ear about paving her street.
"I talked to him a lot. I want him to fix the alley, too," Thomas said. "This is a good start but more can be done. We want the alderman to keep this up."
More than 290 miles of city streets have been repaved since 2011, city officials said.
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