Full List: Pittsfield Streets Getting Crack Seal Treatment Starting Monday

Pittsfield drivers, get ready to see road crews out this week. The city is kicking off a crack seal treatment program starting Monday, August 3, hitting dozens of streets across town over the next several weeks.

So what exactly is crack seal? It's basically preventive maintenance for pavement. Crews pump a hot, rubberized sealant into small cracks in the road surface to keep water out. That matters because water is a road's worst enemy. It seeps into cracks, and when temperatures drop and that water freezes, it expands and makes the cracks bigger. Over time that turns small cracks into potholes and other serious damage. Crack sealing stops that cycle before it starts, which means the road lasts longer before it needs a full repaving job. The city is doing this work on streets that were recently resurfaced, since sealing cracks early is one of the cheapest ways to protect that investment.

The work is broken into three phases:

Phase One
Summer Street Parking Lot, Tyler Street (First Street to New York Avenue)

Phase Two
Andrea Drive, Birch Grove Drive, Courtland Place, Danforth Avenue, Doreen Street, Filomena Drive, Juliana Drive, Maple Grove Drive, Maple Lane, New Hampshire Avenue, Windsor Avenue

Phase Three
Crane Avenue (Oak Hill Rd to Dalton Ave), Partridge Road, Glenn Drive, Stephen Drive, Kellogg Street, Winter Street, Melville Street, North Pearl Street, Dorchester Avenue, Wood Avenue, Emerson Avenue, Whittier Avenue, Preston Avenue, Marshall Avenue, Cooper Parkway, Beverly Street, South Church Street, Cole Avenue, Gamwell Avenue, Claremont Street, Jeffrey Drive, Sumner Place, Dundee Road, Hollister Street, Francis Avenue, Linden Street, Bradford Street, Madison Avenue, John Street, Hurlbut Street, Richmond Avenue, Pearl Street, Briggs Avenue

Keep in mind this schedule can shift if the weather doesn't cooperate, since crack sealing needs dry conditions to work properly.