City officials kick off paving season

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - Mayor Kenney kicked off the 2019 paving season by quoting, or paraphrasing at least, from the classic film 'Apocalypse Now.'

"I do love the smell of macadam in the afternoon, don't you?" he said.

Philly has long been losing the war against crumbling roads. The city is responsible for nearly 2,200 miles of streets, but the Kenney administration is averaging just 65 miles of repairs each year. That's up dramatically from the previous administration, but it's still just half the total needed to meet federal standards.

FOX 29's Bruce Gordon asked streets commissioner Carlton Williams, why the lag?

"Well Bruce, we didn't get this way overnight. It took us 10 years to get our streets in a state of disrepair. But this investment will allow us to get closer to the national average of 131," he said.

This investment? $200 million over six years to add a third city paving crew and catch up on road repairs.

In an unprecedented nod to transparency, the city is listing online the repaving projects set for 2019.

For more information, please click here.