Lafayette unveils $3.8 million repaving plan for 28 streets; residents press for bike and drainage fixes

Anna Bernardes, the City of Lafayette’s senior engineer, presented the city’s 2026 paving program on Monday and said the $3,800,000 project will resurface 28 streets beginning in late May and wrapping up in late August.

The meeting, held as a public presentation, walked residents through the construction sequence — grind and remove existing striping, crack-seal, perform base repairs (dig-outs), apply a tack coat and finish with a hot-mix asphalt overlay. "Most of the streets on this project will receive an inch and a half of hot asphalt overlay," Bernardes said, adding that in some locations inlay work of up to 3–3.5 inches will be used where pavement is more severely damaged.

Why it matters: repaving now is intended as preventative maintenance. Bernardes said the city uses a pavement condition index (PCI) and consultant surveys to select streets and that focusing on residential streets helps avoid costlier full reconstruction later.

Bernardes outlined homeowner responsibilities and a May 15 deadline for frontage repairs done by private contractors. "Property owners hiring their own contractor to do these repairs are required to acquire an encroachment permit and complete the work by May 15," she said, and noted the city will waive the usual permit fee if the work is completed…