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19 pothole-filled streets to undergo strip-patching

19 pothole-filled street segments to under strip-patching

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temporary spare tires are a common sight on the city’s south side.

“Nobody has their original tires out here,” resident Nia Taylor said Wednesday.

Permanent replacement tires can be a risky investment on pothole-filled roads that are prone to cracking during dramatic temperature swings. Some drivers have popped multiple tires in a single day while attempting to dodge crater-like potholes.

On Thursday, Indianapolis Department of Public Works said it is tackling the worst of the worst potholes to ease motorists’ minds. Plus, Public Works is patching the road in strips across the city, continuing the work the department started in 2019 after purchasing new strip-patching equipment.

“Yes! Yes, I am excited. Some real, actual construction work. I’m excited for it,” Taylor told News 8.

However, her brother — who had spent more time driving on Indianapolis roads — said he was skeptical of surface fixes and questioned how long the results would stay intact.

“The potholes get bigger (and) they get deeper,” Kendall Rodgers said Wednesday. “They get more out of control. So it’s like a nonstop thing every time that they try to do that. Just close the street off, tear the street down, rebuild it and just give us better roads.”

Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday during a news conference at Hanna Village Apartments, “Last year, the city announced a $400 million investment in our city’s roads and bridges over the next four years.”

Strip-patching is not supposed to be a complete repair project. Public Works Director Dan Parker said, “It’s sort of this gets us through to the next phase of trying to reconstruct the road.”

Public Works says strip-patching lets the department fix the biggest pothole concerns without being called out day after day.

“Streets that are going to be done in our reconstruction program … later in the spring are not targeted for this,” Parker said. “They’re streets that are not in our capital plan for reconstruction in the next couple of years.”

Last year, Public Works strip-patched 64 roads. The mayor says the first phase this year will hit 19 of what the mayor calls “critical” locations. He says with a workforce bolstered by a second Public Works shift for potholes and increased funding, the department can accomplish even more this year.

“With all of these additions we are expanding the effectiveness and the ability of our crews to maintain our streets,” Hogsett said.

19 street segments set for strip-patching in 2020

  • Meridian Street: 38th Street to 56th Street
  • 79th Street: Michigan Road to Township Line Road
  • Moore Road: 79th Street to 86th Street
  • Traders Lane: Wilson Road to Lafayette Road
  • 21st Street: Tansel Road to Country Club Road
  • Rockville Road: Gasoline Alley to dead end
  • Kessler Boulevard West Drive: White River bridge to Westfield Boulevard
  • Country Club Road: Rockville Road to 10th Street
  • Belmont Avenue: Minnesota Street to Morris Street
  • 21st Street: Wellesley Boulevard to Post Road
  • Shadeland Avenue: 21st Street to Western Select Drive
  • Emerson Avenue: English Avenue to Washington Street
  • Allisonville Road: 62nd Street to 71st Street
  • 75th Street: Dean Road to Binford Boulevard
  • Kessler Boulevard East Drive: Allisonville Road to Binford Boulevard
  • Southport Road: U.S. 31 to Shelby Street
  • Hanna Avenue: Meridian Street to East Street
  • Thompson Road: High School Road to Mann Road
  • Trotter Road: County Line Road to Camby Road