Street Maintenance

Asphalt and Concrete Street Repair

The objective of asphalt street patching/potholing is to extend the life of the roadway until reconstruction is required. Asphalt repairs include pothole repairs, crack sealing, joint sealing and spray injecting. The majority of concrete street repair is done in response to Mains and Hydrant's utility cuts. Other concrete work is done in emergency situations such as a buckled street or storm sewer separation (cave-in).

Mudjacking and Foamjacking

This is the use of mud or foam to jack up the curb and gutter to enhance drainage. The Street Department works hand-in-hand with the Engineering Department to determine locations of concern within construction project areas. Mudjacking is also performed at the request of a property owner.

Gravel Streets and Alley

Regular maintenance of gravel roads and alleys allows for safer driving conditions and enhanced drainage from the road surfaces.

Sweeping

Street sweeping begins after the spring thaw and continues through the summer with zones being swept monthly. This process routinely occurs during the work day, with primary routes and night parking restriction areas usually occurring in the evening hours. Sweeping frequency increases in the fall for leaf cleanup.

For reporting purposes, the Street Department tracks the tonnage of debris that is picked up in the sweeping process. We currently track debris per zone; 17 sweeping zones, 3 primary route zones. Sweeping zone numbers move north to south with 1 being the furthest north and 17 the furthest south. The size of the zones varies depending on the number of streets, environmental impacts, and frequency of service. Each zone roughly takes the same amount of time to clean. As an example, the downtown and college areas are split into 3 zones while the Industrial Park in the NW part of town is 1 zone. These areas are roughly the same acreage, but lane miles and neighborhood impacts require more time to perform the same service in the smaller zones. Primary zones (1P, 2P, 3P) consist of primary and secondary streets throughout the city. 1P consists of roads north of Main Avenue, i.e. 19th Ave. N., 12th Ave. N. 10th St. N.; 2P consists of roads south of Main Avenue primarily west of I-29, i.e. 42nd St. S., 45th St. S., 32nd Ave. S.; 3P consists of roads south of Main Avenue primarily east of I-29, i.e. 25th St. S., University Dr. S., 13th Ave. S., etc.