City Street Repaving Program In Full Swing
CHICAGO (CBS) -- If you've found driving on city streets a little smoother recently, city officials said that's because paving crews got an early start on road repairs, and have been going full blast.
Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said the mayor has ordered at least 300 miles of city streets be repaved each year.
"Since 2014, together we've repaved a total of 343 miles of streets all across the city. Since 2011, that's almost 1,000 miles – almost a quarter of the city's streets that have been resurfaced," she said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said paving crews already have resurfaced more than 65 miles of city streets so far this year, and they are not letting up.
"Four years ago, we used to do – on average – 150, 175 miles. We're now doing – on average – a minimum of 300 miles of paving throughout the city of Chicago, when you bring all the different type of resources to bear on the problem," he said. "The great news for us, as a city, is we invest in our transportation system; whether it's in our neighborhoods, our airport, our public transportation, it keeps our city on the move."
Emanuel said when the city is moving, people are working.