The city of Scottsdale has completed its expanded Fall 2025 paving season, delivering improvements to streets, parking lots and alleys across the community, including a major investment in Old Town as part of the city’s Old Town Revitalization Program.

This year the city made a significant increase in the paving budget. The estimated cost of the 2025 fall paving season was $18.5 million, with $7 million of that amount being spent specifically in Old Town Scottsdale. As a comparison, the estimated cost of the Fall 2024 paving season was approximately $7 million.

Each year, Scottsdale repairs and preserves its asphalt infrastructure to maintain safe, reliable roadways for residents, visitors and businesses. While pavement work occurs year-round, most projects are scheduled in the spring and fall, when temperatures allow materials to cure properly and extend the life of the pavement.

This fall, the paving season was expanded to support targeted improvements in Old Town, one of Scottsdale’s most active and historic areas. The work focused on preserving existing pavement, improving ride quality and extending the lifespan of streets and alleys while minimizing disruption to daily activity.

Scottsdale resurfaced more than 1.5 million square yards of streets and parking lots citywide. The Old Town Pavement Improvement Project accounted for nearly 368,000 square yards of that work, including streets, parking lots and alleys.

Several pavement preservation methods were used during the fall season, each selected based on the condition and needs of the roadway:

• Fog seal: A light application of asphalt emulsion that seals small cracks, restores flexibility and protects pavement from moisture and oxidation. It is typically used on streets in good condition to extend their service life.
• Micro seal: A thin, protective surface treatment made of asphalt emulsion, fine aggregate and additives. Micro sealing improves skid resistance, fills minor surface imperfections and helps prevent further deterioration.
• Mill and overlay: A more intensive process that removes the top layer of worn asphalt and replaces it with new pavement. This treatment improves ride quality, corrects surface defects and adds years of service life to heavily traveled streets.

Coordinated effort, minimized impacts

Behind the scenes, successful delivery of these projects required collaboration among a cross-departmental team of city staff, alongside 16 contractors and subcontractors to deliver the fall paving program. In Old Town, projects were carefully phased to maintain access to businesses, attractions and neighborhoods while ensuring safe travel for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

For more information about pavement preservation and upcoming projects, visit ScottsdaleAZ.gov and search “pavement preservation.”