TYLER, Texas — One of Tyler's most well-known and loved features, the historic red-brick streets is getting a makeover.
The city approved a construction project of over $800,000 to repair the brick streets.
"We have about 13 miles of brick streets and they’re a source of pride for us because they’re over a 100-years old," said Darin Jennings, City of Tyler engineer.
With the restoration of the historic streets, comes a tedious repair process done brick-by-brick.
"It is all done by hand. We are removing the bricks, we are cleaning the bricks, stockpiling them, and then fixing what's wrong underneath. We're stabilizing the substrate below it and then leveling a sand layer in there and putting the bricks back," Jennings said.
Jennings also said there is more than 30 areas that need repair, but some are getting more than just a facelift. Bois Darc street will be completely rebuilt.
"We are removing those bricks, but we are only going back with an asphalt street because of all the heavy truck traffic there and because of the recycling center," Jennings said.
Jennings said the construction project has been in the works for years.
"We have about three-hundred thousand dollars annually and we’ve saved over the last three years to be able to do a much larger project this year," Jennings said.
The construction project will begin this fall and is expected to cause traffic delays that will last about six to nine months.