The City of Leesburg soon will begin its annual road resurfacing program, repairing damage, adding asphalt and extending the life of 28 busy streets in this area.

The roadwork – to be handled by private business C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. - will begin within 30 days and run through April. The company is expected to pave about 25,000 linear feet of roadway lanes in both residential and business areas of Leesburg.

Resurfacing includes the Woodland Park area – nearly 1,500 feet of Woodland Boulevard and 747 feet of Parkview Avenue. Another 1,100 feet of north Canal Street will get new asphalt.

Leesburg’s upcoming resurfacing projects will cost an estimated $564,603, which is funded by a local gas tax. Altogether the city maintains about 84 miles of paved public roads within its borders.

“Leesburg makes a high priority of our infrastructure by maintaining roads and improving neighborhoods,” said Leesburg City Commissioner John Christian. “We want to make sure that Leesburg is safe and drivable and that we are investing local tax dollars back into the community.”

Each year the city prioritizes streets that most need maintenance because of potholes, cracking and potential safety concerns. 

In some cases, the top portion of existing roadway will be removed before a new layer of asphalt is added. This often ensures that the new roadway properly directs rain away to the shoulders and into storm water collection systems. 

Resurfacing is a cost-efficient way to maintain roads at about $98,000 per mile. Building a mile of new road costs up to half a million dollars.  

 

Aside from its annual road maintenance program, Leesburg also is working to rebuild Crosby Street, which was badly damaged by a 60-foot-wide sinkhole last June. Crews are compacting soil at the site and a damaged water line will be repaired in the next few days. 

About 20 yards of roadway then will be rebuilt. Construction is expected to wrap up in about three weeks, and Crosby will be re-opened to traffic.