City To Use $15M In Federal Grants To Resurface More Streets

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he wants to repair the damage done to city streets by this year's brutal winter weather, and has announced plans to resurface an additional 13 miles of roads.

The project announced this weekend will be funded by $15 million in federal grants.

With the latest added street repairs, the city will resurface a total of 345 miles of streets and alleys this year.

The mayor said, by the end of his first term, the city will have resurfaced more than 1,000 miles of streets.

"More miles are being paved than ever before, or in recent memory. We are adding more resources to be sure our neighborhoods, commercial areas, residential streets get the type of streets people expect and deserve," Emanuel said Sunday.

The extreme cold and heavy snow this winter left behind a bumper crop of potholes on city streets. Damage claims from potholes reached record levels this year, with drivers filing more than 1,800 claims with the city so far this year – compared to 2,200 in the previous three years combined.