More than half the streets Naperville planned to resurface this year could be held over until 2023 because of a seven-week strike by heavy equipment operators, a city official said. (Irv Leavitt / Pioneer Press)

More than half the streets Naperville planned to repave this year may be delayed a year or more as a result of a recently ended strike by the heavy equipment operators who produce the materials needed for the work, a city official said.

Three hundred members of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 went on strike in early June against three major material producers — Lehigh Hanson, Vulcan Materials and Lafarge Holcim — at facilities across northern Illinois.

The companies produce the aggregate elements, including sand, gravel and crushed stone, essential for asphalt, concrete and other construction materials.

“Most of the approved asphalt and concrete mixes use aggregate sourced from these quarries, so shortly after the strike started many mixes were no longer available,” said Bill Novack, director of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department.

While the strike ended July 26 with a new three-year contract, the city’s annual resurfacing projects are taking a hit that could take several years to recover, Novack said in a manager’s memorandum to the Naperville City Council.

Each year the city typically resurfaces 27 miles of roadways, with projects scheduled so roads near schools are completed during the summer months to avoid conflicts during the school year, he said.

The city was unable to complete Leverenz Road near Welch Elementary School and Eagle Street Street behind Mill Street School before classes resumed this week, Novack said.

While conflicts cannot be avoided, his department will coordinate with each school and the contractor to minimize the impacts during the grinding and paving operations that will be required, he said.

The problem is time is running out on the construction season because residents start raking their leaves into the street in early October for bulk leaf collection.

“Leaves do not mix well with paving work,” Novack said.

Conversations are underway with the contractor to determine how much can be completed this year, he said.

“We anticipate not being able to repave over half those streets. Those not paved this year will be reprogrammed and included in our 2023 street resurfacing bids,” Novack said.

He added his department may request additional funds over the next two to three years to make up for the streets not resurfaced in 2022.

Also critically affected by the strike was the North Aurora Road improvements west of Route 59, Novack said.

In its second year, the project to widen North Aurora Road from the entrance to the Route 59 train station in Naperville to Pennsbury Lane in Aurora was to be completed by fall.

Most of the construction should be finished by the end of the year but due to the strike, the final asphalt work may be delayed until 2023, Novack said.