A repaved stretch of Chamberlayne Avenue already is falling apart, less than a year after being repaved for the world bike races held in Richmond last September. The problem pavement also undermines Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ claim that such paving for the races would last up to 10 years.

The seams in the new paving appear to be lifting or pulling apart on the stretch of Chamberlayne Avenue between the Inter- state 95 bridge and Roberts Street on North Side. City workers already have filled a series of potholes on that stretch after the Free Press began raising questions.

In a November statement to City Council on the cost of hosting the races, Mayor Jones stated that of “approximately $2.96 mil- lion in (street paving) projects along race routes, approximately 90 percent ($2.66 million) were mill and overlay projects with an expected life of ten years.” Overall, 42.79 lane miles were repaved for the bike race, the report noted.

According to the city Department of Public Works, that stretch of Chamberlayne Avenue wasn’t reconstructed, but “was milled and overlaid,” the kind of work the mayor stated was to last up to a decade.

The department stated that the street would be reconstructed in areas where distress is detected.

The status of other streets repaved for the bike races is un- known. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS