The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved paving contracts worth more than $12.7 million with Dunn Construction Co. of Birmingham to pave city streets.

Several council members asked that previous mistakes by past pavers be remediated when possible during new paving.

Council member Valerie Abbott said past street paving projects had covered up curbs that are supposed to direct stormwater into storm sewers, causing flooding.

“The paving contractors are paving over our gutters,” Abbott said.

Council member Wardine Alexander agreed and asked if new paving efforts could “undo the damage that’s been done.”

Birmingham City Council President Darrell O’Quinn said that instead of milling streets down and then paving, past contractors had paved over streets without milling.

“Stormwater is now running on the right of way and into people’s yards and is not being directed into storm drains,” O’Quinn said.

“We are addressing those issues right now with the contractor, said Denise Bell, director of capital projects for the City of Birmingham.

“We do expect to see a difference this time,” Bell said. “We do move to correct issues.”

The city is spending more than $10 million a year on re-paving streets, but it sometimes takes 10 years to get to every street. “The water does not know that we need to wait 5 to 10 years,” Abbott said.

“There’s over 1,000 miles of paved streets in the city of Birmingham,” O’Quinn said. “$10-to-$15 million gets you a few miles. This is a long-term process. You’ve got to eat the elephant one bite at a time. We’re going to keep at it.”