Paving is an essential part of the City’s scheduled annual maintenance work for its roads and streets. Paving projects generally involve phases of work where traffic may be impacted for shorter durations, but roads remain open.
Repaving a road involves many steps and most times, the first step the public may notice is the milling process. Milling is done by a large machine that grinds the top surface off the old asphalt. This ensures that when new asphalt is added, the road maintains the same height and matches adjacent curbs, driveways and intersections. After milling, crews must repair and adjust manhole covers. This is a crucial step done by hand to protect the integrity of the finished project.
Then finally, it’s paving day. On paving day, a truck will first spray “tack” as a type of treatment that helps new pavement bond to the existing pavement. Next, an asphalt spreader places the asphalt in a consistent thickness and width and compacts the asphalt. Rollers then travel behind the paver to seal the surface.
The final step is painting lines and, in some cases, adding crushed rock on the shoulders; the icing on the cake. These steps all must follow in a specific sequence at just the right time to give a durable and smooth finished product.
While we do this important work, we encourage drivers to have patience, pay attention to signs and always obey the directions of traffic control persons. Please slow down and be attentive when driving though construction zones, it might save someone’s life.
What factors influence where the City decides to pave?
When choosing locations to pave the City considers how long ago a road was paved, the condition (patches, cracks, and potholes) as well as rutting that can create unsafe conditions for drivers.
How does the City plan and source paving projects?
The City carefully plans for paving projects to ensure the best roads we can provide while continuing to work within approved budgets. To do this, we work with qualified contractors sourced by competitive bidding to do much of the work.
Why is there typically a delay between the milling and the paving process?
After milling, crews must repair and adjust manhole covers. This is a crucial step that must be done by hand to protect the integrity of the finished project and avoid premature failure of the pavement.
Why can’t paving be done in the rain?
Paving can only be done under the right conditions – the surface must be clean, dry and the right temperature before a new coat of asphalt can go on.