St. Paul crews on Monday started transforming its "Terrible 20" streets into what officials say will be, by the end of the fall, a "Noticeably Smoother 11."

After months of lamenting the anger-inducing and bone-jarring conditions of some of the city's busiest and most pockmarked roadways, crews this week began resurfacing 11 major arteries from a list of streets dubbed by Mayor Chris Coleman as the "Terrible 20."

That work is being done thanks to money proposed by the mayor and approved by the City Council.

Money to overlay and reconstruct the rest of the Terrible 20, as well as a number of other streets, is included in the mayor's budget request for 2015. Coleman is requesting $54 million for street repairs and upgrades, including $34 million in new money.

Several months ago Coleman took issue with a council plan to issue bonds for $22 million to rebuild arterials, instead finding $2.5 million to do patchwork this summer while promising a comprehensive approach to the problem in his budget address.

Still, the work that began Monday is expected to have immediate benefits.

"The bottom line is that residents and visitors will notice instant and significant improvement to these roads when they are done," said Kari Spreeman, a spokeswoman for St. Paul Public Works. "These are some of the most traveled streets in the city. And that's why it's important to get them addressed now."

Starting immediately, parking will be restricted on 11 roads as mill and overlay work begins. A large milling machine will grind and remove the top 2 inches of each street and replace it with a new layer of pavement. The process typically takes two to three days to complete.

Most of the work is expected to be completed by mid-October. The following streets will get the earliest attention:

• Fairview Avenue from Shields to Summit Avenue.

• Grand Avenue: Interstate 35E to 7th Street.

• Hamline Avenue: University Avenue to Selby Avenue.

• Hamline Avenue: Portland Avenue to Grand Avenue.

• Hamline Avenue: St. Clair Avenue to Randolph Avenue.

• Johnson Parkway: Minnehaha Avenue to Interstate 94.

• Lafayette Road: 7th Street to Grove Street

• Rice Street: Part of 12th Street and on 12th Street over to Wabasha/St. Peter Streets.

• Wabasha Street from 6th to 7th Streets.

• Wheelock Parkway: Edgerton Street to Arcade Avenue.

Work on the following streets will begin the week of Sept. 22:

• Cretin Avenue from Interstate 94 to Marshall Avenue and from Summit Avenue to Ford Parkway.

• Eustis Street: Hwy. 280 exit ramp to I-94, including the area at Franklin Avenue.

• 11th Street from St. Peter to Jackson Streets.

James Walsh • 651-925-5041