As another winter comes to a close, Indianapolis finds itself once again littered with potholes that citizens dodge daily. New funds and strategies aim to fix the roads amidst concerns about driver safety.
“They need to fix these potholes,” Arthur Brown, an Indianapolis resident, said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes: cars busting their tires about to have an accident. Yes, that’s bad. They need to fix that. They need to get sued for them potholes.”
Changes in temperatures cause moisture in roads to expand and contract, creating potholes. In February, the weather went from rain to ice to 60 degrees within a few days. Indianapolis Department of Public Works (DWP) Director Dan Parker said the inconsistent temperatures were rough on roads.
City infrastructure can impact how effectively DPW can address potholes, and Parker stated Indianapolis historically lacked funding to address all the roads. Contrary to popular belief, property and income taxes do not fund the roads. Gas taxes and BMV fees provide most of the money. Any additional funds must come from the City-County Council.
“Given the sheer size of Indianapolis and the number of streets that we have, we have issues,” Parker said. “That’s not to say that there hasn’t been underinvestment in the roads, literally probably for the last 50 years.”
Taylor Shoemake, Indianapolis native and Indiana University student, said roads are fine in Bloomington. When potholes appear there, workers fix them quickly. On the other hand, Shoemake concentrates on the road, looking for potholes while driving in Indianapolis. Even though she’s vigilant, Shoemake recently drove over a pothole so large she felt her car dip into the hole, destroying her tire. Residents like Shoemake are upset that Indianapolis cannot keep pace with other Indiana cities.
“It seems like they pretty much leave out the lower income areas a little bit more than the nice areas,” Jeffery Powell said. “You don’t really see potholes in Carmel. You don’t really see potholes in Avon. You don’t really see potholes in Greenwood. They’re all in Marion County.”
To address the problem, city officials included $400 million dedicated to four years of road construction in the budget passed October 2018, with $126 million allocated for work this year.
According to Parker, having additional funds already built into the budget allowed DPW to better plan for potholes this year. For example, the DPW had access to hot asphalt two and a half weeks earlier than last year. DPW hired 36 road workers, marking the first time in more than 25 years the organization increased that number.
Parker said the preparation allowed DPW to perform more timely and longer lasting repairs, but winter weather limited opportunities for roadwork. In order to fully tackle the city’s potholes, DPW will replace 167 miles of road in the spring and continue road construction projects for the next four years.
Despite the increased funds, Brian Smith is losing faith in the city. Smith needs to maneuver around a pothole when leaving his house. He called the Mayor’s Action Center to report the pothole multiple times. Months later, the pothole is still there.
“It’s just annoying,” Smith said. “Everybody’s got to ride around it to keep from hitting it. It’s big enough where if you hit it you’ll bust some tires.”
Chris Lang, cofounder of the pothole repair group Open Source Roads, blamed the city’s process of prioritizing some potholes above others because even minor potholes “collect interest,” by becoming worse with time. When the city does fix potholes, Lang criticized the “roll and pull” method, where potholes are filled quickly. Lang said this method could cause potholes to return the next year.
This pothole season, DPW responded to such criticism through implementing new, more effective techniques. For example, previously they either filled individual potholes or replaced entire streets. Now DPW uses strip patching, which replaces rectangles of damaged road four and a half inches deep. The rectangles last longer than filling individual holes, last longer and are quicker and easier than replacing entire streets.
“We share [Indianapolis resident’s] frustrations,” Parker said. “We understand it. It is why we wanted a robust plan that passed the council last year unanimously, and we are looking forward to ending winter construction season and getting the true road construction season started come April.”
Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar.
The City-County Council approved $400 million for road construction, with $126 million for this year. So far, the money has gone to winter construction and hiring workers. When full road construction begins, funds will go to repaving 167 miles of road. (Photo/Ben Lashar).
