Roadway Night Work Minimizes Traffic Delays

Road crews will start paving work on some priority roadways this week, but many motorists won’t notice the construction until it’s complete and they are driving on smooth, new roadways.

“Our goal is to keep traffic moving during the day, so we’re scheduling more work at night,” says Matt Jurkiewicz, Engineering Manager, Technical Services, Construction and Design.  “Resurfacing is a reasonably fast moving paving project that is ideally suited for night work.  Sections of roads can be milled one night and paved the next.  We can open the roadway for daytime traffic.”

Resurfacing is a roadway treatment that replaces surface pavement and makes the road surface smooth again. A milling machine removes a top layer of existing deteriorated pavement, then a paving machine lays new, hot mix asphalt.

“This type of road work does not usually require full road closures,” Jurkiewicz says. “It relies more on lane restrictions so even at night traffic can keep moving, just at a slightly reduced speed.” 

Jurkiewicz says other types of roadway preservation work can’t be done at night, like reconstruction projects that involve open pit work and microsurfacing, which works best in the hottest days of summer.

“Crews started resurfacing work Monday night on Marquis Drive and expect to be there for about a week.  Then they’ll move on to other priority roadways including Airport Drive and Idylwyld Drive,” says Jurkiewicz.

For a complete, list of construction projects, visit the city’s online interactive maps.

The 2017 budget for roadway preservation $32 million.