This year, thanks to more effective and efficient deployment of city resources, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has increased our "in-house" capacity to pave neighborhood streets by 60 percent. At this point in 2010, we had completed 38.98 lane miles with another 47.77 lane miles under construction. So far this season, we have completed 52.98 lane miles with another 61.06 in progress.

On Wednesday, to celebrate this accomplishment, and to see the DOT Maintenance Division in action, I was joined by Councilman Bill Henry, Councilman Robert Curran, Department of Transportation Director Khalil Zaied, and joyful residents in Northeast Baltimore for a paving demonstration. At the event, WJZ spoke with residents about the benefits of the newly paved roads for their community.

In the past, resurfacing projects were completed by contractors alone. Baltimore City's new paving machine is representative of our commitment to saving taxpayers money. The Maintenance Division has trained over 30 City employees to both mill and pave roadways throughout Baltimore. Completing these projects in-house allows us to do the work faster and with significant cost-savings.

I am grateful to DOT leadership for working with residents and local businesses to ensure that the many neighborhood paving projects are completed without slowing down business or disturbing residents' daily lives. Through Operation Orange Cone, more than 90 percent of all lane repaving in the last four years has taken place outside of the downtown area.