Resurfacing in Gwinnett County is funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), along with state funds. Because the funding is limited, each year Gwinnett DOT staff ride about half of the roadways in the county to rate the pavement conditions. Streets that receive a rating of 55 or below (on a scale of 100) are prioritized for resurfacing. Streets above that level are patched as needed and re-examined in following years.

Due to this rating process, it is possible that only one street within a subdivision might meet the criteria for resurfacing in a given year. While the other streets in the subdivision could look different by comparison, the County works to provide a logical and consistent method for determining which roads will get resurfaced with the limited amount of funds.

The resurfacing contractors begin their work in the spring and work to complete all the resurfacing by November, weather permitting.

If a street in your subdivision is to be resurfaced, signs will be erected at the entrance to notify residents of the coming project. This will occur a day or two before the contractors come out. All work will be done during daylight hours and you will be asked to remove all cars parked in the roadway.

The work is done in phases, by different crews. First, the contractors will cut and patch any heavily damaged areas of pavement. In other areas, they may fill the cracks in the pavement with tar.

If needed, the contractor will mill (or grind down) areas of existing pavement for drainage needs and to create a uniform surface.  If milling is needed, it will be done at the same time as the patching. The patching crew will then move on to another subdivision. Within 30 days, weather permitting, another crew will move in to top the streets.

A layer of tack coat (a tar-like substance) will be sprayed immediately prior to placement of asphalt. The tack is a sticky substance that may stick to your tires if you drive on it, so avoid it if at all possible. We ask residents not to drive on the roadway during the tack coat process to keep the tack from sticking to tires and being tracked onto driveways.

The contractor has to drive through this tack coat to install the new surface. When they drive away from the street being resurfaced, the tar will track onto other streets. It will eventually wear off.

Once the tack has been placed, hot-mix asphalt will be laid to resurface the road. Residents should expect small bits of the new asphalt to fray off the edge of pavement. If the street has steel manhole covers, those will be paved over. Another contractor will come in to uncover the lids and adjust the height.

Residents are asked to call the Gwinnett County DOT at 770.822.7474 to report issues on any roadway within Gwinnett County. For information about other projects funded by the SPLOST, click here.