Indianapolis pothole repair crews hope to lay down a long-term fix
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Department of Public Works has begun its second “pothole blitz” in the city and is bringing in a new filling method Tuesday.
Recently, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has used cold mix asphalt and hot mix asphalt to fill a pothole. Those filling substances last anywhere from a few days to a month before the hole reopens. DPW spokesperson Warren Stokes says with Mayor Joe Hogsett’s emergency declaration Friday, DPW is prepared to begin their Emergency Pothole Plan.
“This is going to go all the way through Sunday,” said Stokes, “and if next week, if the weather is good, we’re going to do it that week as well.”
Stokes explained longer-lasting strip patching is now operational with this new plan.
“What we’re going to do is look at those streets where you’re seeing pothole patching on top of pothole patching,” he said. “What we’re going to do is remove about 9.5 inches of asphalt and we’re going to replace it with some new that’s going to last a year or more.”
Strip patching is set to begin on Indianapolis streets Tuesday but won’t cover all roads needing repair. Stokes says some patches will still be done with hot mix asphalt to sustain the roadway until repaving efforts can begin in the spring.
On Monday, 20 crews from DPW and four contracted pothole-filling crews covered a long list of city roads from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The list was generated in proportion to the number of reports on DPW’s pothole reporting outlet and focused on College Avenue, 10th Street and North Keystone Avenue, along with several areas outside of the Interstate 465 loop.
As of Monday, 7,500 pothole reports covered DPW’s online maps. Residents along College Avenue told our crews the sight of DPW employees hard at work on the roads was a welcome one.
“It seems to be all I’m hearing about lately is these potholes,” said Kenny Cote, who was dining along College Avenue. “When there’s so many of them and they take up the whole road, kinda hard to miss.”
“It’s pretty bad. But I’m glad to see them finally fixing them. Something’s being done about it,” said Deanna Johnson, who works along College Avenue. “Hopefully it’s not too bad anymore.”
Johnson explained that she and her coworkers collect hubcaps that have flipped into their yards.
“We’ve had hubcaps all over out there. We usually line them up so people can find their hubcaps,” she said. “If you’re missing a hubcap — here it is!”
DPW continues to operate their pothole reporting service available at their website RequestIndy. Service requests can also be made through the RequestIndy mobile app for smartphones or by calling the Mayor’s Action Center 317-327-4622.