Streets repaved and potholes filled at record pace

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), racked up record numbers for street repairs as 950 of the city’s lane-miles were resurfaced this fiscal year.
In addition to the paved roads, 267,921 potholes were filled up in the city.
“Keeping the streets in good condition is vital to the health and safety of our transportation network,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
Queens streets and potholes had a large stake in this overhaul. About 280 of Queens lane-miles were resurfaced this fiscal year.
The DOT also filled a record-high 61,345 nagging potholes in Queens this fiscal year. Of the holes filled in the city, all were completed while using recycled asphalt produced in its own Hamilton Avenue plant.
“The pothole filling and street resurfacing was a huge increase from the last fiscal year,” said Craig Chin, DOT spokesperson. “We are very excited about the record-high numbers.”
This milestone marks the highest level for the Bloomberg administration and an important goal of the mayor’s PlaNYC and DOT’s strategic plan to ensure the health of the city’s transportation infrastructure.
“We are paving more roads each year than we have in over a decade and we are making them greener,” said Sadik-Khan. “In doing so, we are using 40 percent recycled asphalt in every road resurfacing. This saves the city $5 million a year.”
The resurfacing and filling of potholes fluctuate due to a change in weather patterns. If there is a high number of snowstorms or rainfall, there will also be a high number of broken streets and potholes.
“All renovations to the city depend on how the weather is that year,” said Chin. “Everything that we do revolves around the ground’s reaction to the weather.”
In the 2007 fiscal year, DOT paved 900 lane miles, and it plans to pave 1,000 miles in the upcoming fiscal year with an increase in funding from $126.9 million to $132.5 million.