Pittsburgh plans to repave 39 miles of streets; work starts Monday

Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure plans to begin its 2022 paving program next week.

The city is spending more than $12.5 million on street resurfacing and other improvements such as curb ramp upgrades. The city, which is responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of roadway, plans to resurface about 39 miles this year.

Last year, the city budgeted about $16 million to resurface and repair about 34 miles of road. The city could afford the added expense thanks to American Rescue Plan stimulus funding.

The city expects to begin paving on Monday. Streets slated for repairs will be posted weekly on DOMI’s website.

Additional miles will be resurfaced through cooperative agreements with local public utilities, the city said. Mechanical patching and crack sealing also will improve additional miles of road by addressing particular trouble spots on otherwise acceptable streets.

DOMI’s staff and engineers create an annual list of roads to repair based on factors including the street overall condition index — a score given to each city street based on the road’s condition. Once a road deteriorates past a certain threshold, it’s given extra priority on the paving list.

Other factors in prioritizing streets include street use and equity, with focus on ensuring historically underserved communities receive greater resources to improve their road conditions.

Non-asphalt streets, such as brick and cobblestone ones, are not part of the city’s paving program due to the increased cost and complexity of repairing them.

Typically, those streets are included as their own separate projects within the city’s capital budget.