The City Council adopted the philosophy of "Keeping the Good Streets/Alleys Good" so they set aside funds to perform maintenance on streets/alleys in good condition to prevent them from falling into the reconstruction category. It's much more cost effective to maintain a street/alley than it is to rebuild one. The concrete pavement repairs consist of removing the failed pavement and installing new pavement. The first step is to mark section of pavement to be replaced with white paint so the contractor and the underground utilities locator can see the excavation limits. Then the contractor cuts the pavement with a walk behind saw and pulverizes it with a hydraulic hammer. The pavement is removed and the base material tested to determine whether or not it is suitable to support the new pavement. If not, it's removed and the material is installed and compacted. The steel rebar is installed and inspected to make sure it meets the City's current construction standards. Then the contractor pours the concrete. The new concrete has to cure for 7 days before it can be opened up to traffic. This is done to allow the concrete to reach sufficient strength to support traffic.