Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined crews from the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Department of Water Management (DWM) today to officially kick off the 2018 paving season in Chicago. The City has identified the first 200 of the overall 275 miles of streets it will repave this construction season, bringing Chicago to more than 2,000 miles repaved since 2011.

"By the end of this year we will have paved more than 2,000 miles of Chicago roads since 2011. But we’re not done yet," said Mayor Emanuel. "From new streets to new streetlights; new parks to new playground, Chicago we will continue investing in the neighborhood improvements that matter to our residents and help improve their quality of life."

Earlier this month, City crews began preparing for the opening of the asphalt plants by starting on street milling operations and concrete work in neighborhoods throughout Chicago.

“CDOT is excited to be launching the 2018 paving season,” 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 road conditions and quality of life in every part of the City.”

Resurfacing map from 2011 to 2018

CDOT has identified about 75 miles of arterial streets and almost 30 miles of residential streets and alleys for resurfacing this construction season. The Department is also working with Aldermen on the additional residential streets that will be repaved in 2018.

“DWM is already well underway in towards meeting our 2018 goal of replacing 90 miles of water mains and 22 miles of sewer mains to ensure that we are not out here again for decades to come,” said DWM Commissioner Randy Conner. “Those miles will all be paved as part of restoration generating additional investment in our City’s streets.”

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

• 79th Street from Western to Cottage Grove (4 miles)
• 69th Street from Ashland to South Chicago (2.7 miles)
• Dr. Martin Luther King Drive from 111th Street to 115th Street ( 0.5 mile)
• Western Blvd. from 45th Street to Garfield Blvd. (1.25 miles)
• Damen Avenue from 33rd Street to Pershing Road (0.75 mile)
• Archer Avenue from Kolin Avenue to 47th Street (1.1 miles)
• Archer from Nottingham Avenue to Narragansett Avenue (0.9 mile)
• 67th Street from Ashland to Cottage Grove (3 miles)
• Humboldt Drive from Chicago Avenue to North Avenue (1 mile)
• North Avenue from Cicero to Central Park Avenue (1.5 miles)
• Augusta Blvd. from Grand Avenue to Milwaukee (2.5 miles)
• Wilson Avenue from Damen to LSD (1.7 miles)
• Elston Avenue from Melvina Avenue to Foster (2 miles)
• Addison Street from Keeler Avenue to Avondale Avenue (0.65 mile)
• Avondale Avenue/Gregory Street from Harlem Avenue to Moody Avenue (1.3 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