Kinston Begins Annual Street Resurfacing Project
The City of Kinston has kicked off its annual street resurfacing project, with nearly 30 street sections scheduled for repair over the next few months, Public Services Director Steve Miller said in an interview this week.
Resurfacing is part of the city’s yearly budget process, Miller explained. “Each year we go through getting funds appropriated in our budget for street resurfacing, pothole repairs, whatever types of work we’ve got to do,” he said. “Once that budget is approved and we know what funds we have to work with, then we’ll move forward with selecting streets so we can do that here.”
The city maintains 116 miles of streets, though not all can be resurfaced each year. “On average, we assume streets will last about 25 years before they have to be resurfaced,” Miller said. “If we get that 25-year cycle, we’d be paving about three miles out of that 116 miles every year.”
Selection of streets for resurfacing is based on engineering data, not just visible potholes, Miller said. A Street Condition Survey is conducted every five years, with the most recent completed in 2023 and approved by council in 2024. “It’s purely engineering,” Miller said. “It’s looking at the technical condition of the street—if it’s cracking, if the asphalt is coming apart, if you’re getting potholes, if you’ve had a bunch of utility work where you’ve got patches and it’s uneven and rough for cars to drive over. Those are all factors in figuring out what streets are worse compared to others and which ones need to be addressed.”
The survey is available to the public on the city’s website, where residents can search for their street and see how it scored.
Once priority streets are identified, Miller said city staff look at project logistics. “We get a little bit better price if we do groups of streets in an area and the contractor doesn’t have to jump every street,” he said. Streets slated for future utility projects may be delayed to avoid tearing up new pavement, he added, citing Heritage Street downtown as an example.
The cost of resurfacing adds up quickly. “A single mile of a regular street the city would have typically would be about $160,000,” Miller said. In comparison, repairing a standard pothole costs about $600 to $700 on average.
Funding for resurfacing is included in the city’s annual budget but separate from pothole repairs, which fall under general street maintenance. The city hires private contractors for resurfacing work rather than keeping a permanent paving crew on staff.
Miller urged residents to watch for notifications about street work in their neighborhoods and to keep streets clear for crews. “When the crews get to that area, they need the streets to be clear so we can get the resurfacing done, get your asphalt fixed quickly and then be able to move on,” he said. Notices will be shared through social media, the city website, door hangers, text alerts via the “Notify Me” system, and message boards in some locations.
With work now underway, city officials expect the project to be completed by the end of September. Residents can call 939-3282 to confirm if their street is part of this year’s resurfacing schedule.
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