Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that two City departments in charge of roadway resurfacing – the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Department of Water Management (DWM) – have identified the first 135 miles of streets that are planned for resurfacing this year toward the goal of at least 275 miles of repaving for the entire year. Paving work is expected to start in mid-April when the asphalt plants open for the 2018 construction season.

“Through spring, summer and fall we will build on our progress paving and patching streets in neighborhoods across Chicago,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Our residents and businesses depend on the reliability of our roads, and we will continue to build on our momentum by resurfacing and repairing more residential streets and alleyways throughout Chicago.”

Since Mayor Emanuel took office, CDOT, DWM and private utilities have resurfaced more than 1,850 miles of streets and alleyways, more than one third of the City’s 4,600 miles of streets.

“CDOT is gearing up for the 2018 paving season and we have identified the first 35 miles of arterial streets that we plan to start working on in the coming weeks,” CDOT Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said. “Thanks to the strong commitment that the Mayor has demonstrated to investing in our infrastructure through the Building a New Chicago Program, we are steadily improving the condition of roads in every part of the City.”

 "Chicago is building a water system today that will support our city for generations, and in 2018 DWM will continue its historic investment in our city’s water and sewer infrastructure,” said DWM Commissioner Randy Conner. "By 2021, we will have replaced 880 miles of water mains and rehabilitated almost 700 miles of sewer during our 10-year capital program."

Following are some of the main arterial routes that are slated for resurfacing by CDOT so far in 2018:

• Stony Island Avenue from S. Doty Avenue to E. 122nd Street (2.4 miles)
• South Chicago Avenue 67th Street to 79th Street (1.4 miles)
• Ashland Avenue from 63rd Street to 71st Street (1 mile) 
• Loomis Avenue 59th Street to 74th Street (1.9 miles)
• 47th Street from Western Avenue to Racine Avenue (1.5 miles)
• California Avenue from 47th Street to 51st Street (0.5 mile)
• Harrison Street from Pulaski Road to Kedzie Avenue (1 mile)
• Halsted Street from Roosevelt Road to Harrison Street (0.5 mile)
• Cicero Avenue from Grand Avenue to Division Street (0.8 miles)
• Central Park Avenue from Lake Street to Roosevelt Road (1.3 miles)
• Caldwell Avenue from Touhy Avenue to Devon Avenue (1.5 miles)
• Cicero Avenue from Irving Park Road to Grand Avenue (2.75 miles)

To ensure the City is making the most efficient use of resources possible, it has improved coordination on infrastructure projects.  Through CDOT’s Project Coordination Office, City infrastructure departments and utilities have worked together to reduce the amount of project conflicts that would require opening up a street more than once. These coordination efforts have led to a savings of $124 million since 2012.