Columbia Road: A Resurfacing Story

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a truly smooth roadway surface? What exactly is the City doing outside that is making such a racket? In this week’s edition of What’s the Deal with Public Works? we will take a closer look at the process of resurfacing, as seen through the recently completed Columbia Road project.

Long before a piece of our equipment touches your roadway, thorough coordination must occur with utility companies, private contractors, developers and other city agencies to ensure that all necessary digging in the roadway happens before we pave your street.

Once coordination is complete and the street is clear of conflicting work, we leaflet the street, letting any residents or businesses know when work will occur and what parking restrictions will be in place. Then, we begin grinding down and cleaning the older road surface. After applying a tack coat to the rough surface, we are set to start paving the roadway. Once we’ve put down the new asphalt, we use heavy rollers to ensure that smooth surface you’re looking for. Finally, we’re ready to replace pavement markings and let you back on the road.

As is with anything in life, sometimes during resurfacing, we hit a bump or two in the road. It is our goal to make sure that we fix these issues before you ever notice them.

After milling the roadway on Columbia Road, the Public Works team discovered a collapsed vault at the intersection of Washington Street and Columbia Road – a highly trafficked intersection, to anyone unfamiliar with the area. The collapsed vault required an emergency overnight repair to create the least disruption possible.

The crews worked tirelessly to fix the vault and bring you the smooth road surface you deserve, all in just ten days and nights!

Columbia Road Vault Repair

Besides hard work, just what else did it take to resurface Columbia Road from Devon Street to Blue Hill Avenue? Since you asked…

35,000 Square Yards of Milling
3,000 Tons of Asphalt
2 Miles of Striping (inbound and outbound lanes)
0 CARS TOWED!