Residential Street Resurfacing Process Information

The resurfacing of residential streets is a multi-staged process which usually involves numerous contractors with specialties in different aspects of the project, including concrete, sewer, grinding, paving, landscaping and traffic control.

In Skokie, resurfacing projects are almost always spread throughout the Village. In a typical year, more than 50 blocks are resurfaced, encompassing nearly seven miles of Village streets.

Residents often question why street resurfacing takes many weeks to complete, and become frustrated that at times, no work occurs for a few weeks. This is because the various stages of repaving work, which are provided in detail below, must be completed in sequence and it is not feasible to complete all 22 required stages on each block and then move on to the next block. Instead, each stage is completed on all blocks within a specific project area before the next stage begins. While this is more efficient and economical, it often results is some lag times in between each stage. To minimize these gaps in construction activity, the Village’s Engineering Division typically groups the entire season repaving project into four or five smaller project areas to be completed by the contractors before moving to the next area. This generally helps reduce the lag times between stages of work.

 The detailed stages of repaving work that must be completed in sequence are as follows: 

1. Place traffic control signage (road construction ahead, etc.)
2. Sawcutting for any concrete removal
3. Concrete curb, driveway apron and sidewalk removal
4. Replacement of inlets and storm sewer pipe
5. Concrete curb, driveway apron and sidewalk replacement
6. Removal of frames and lids for all manholes to prepare for street grinding
7. Street grinding 2.5 inches deep
8. Inspection of street base for possible voids under pavement, pavement replacement or patching
9. Repair of any broken private sanitary pipe or storm pipe discovered after street grinding
10. Pour base concrete or asphalt patches
11. Sweep street many times in prep for bituminous tack coat (street glue)
12. Application of bituminous tack coat
13. Paving of binder layer of asphalt (first of two layers)
14. Replacing and adjusting the manhole frames and lids
15. Apply the second coat of bituminous tack coat
16. Pave the final surface layer of asphalt (second of two layers)
17. Place the thermoplastic pavement marking, such as stop bars, turn arrows, skip dash center lines, etc.
18. Prepare the soil behind all concrete for new sod
19. Place sod
20. Water sod
21. Complete the project punchlist for any details that need further attention
22. Remove traffic control signage
23. Enjoy the new street! 

In addition, other factors and obstacles can slow down the rate at which street resurfacing projects are completed, including:

1. Weather
2. Labor strikes affecting construction materials (such as occurred in 2022)
3. Broken infrastructure discovered during construction in need of repair
4. Parked cars which ignore the “no parking’ restrictions
5. Supply chain delays
6. Human error
7. Other unforeseen factors 

For further information on street resurfacing in Skokie, click here or contact the Engineering Division at 847/933-8232.