INDIANAPOLIS -- Potholes are nothing new for Indianapolis residents, but it seems people are more willing to do something about them this year.
According to the Department of Public Works, the city received about 2,000 more pothole repair requests in a three-month period in 2017 than in the same timeframe in 2016.
Between Jan. 1 and March 10 of 2016, DPW received 4,169 pothole repair requests. From Jan. 1 to March 10 of 2017, DPW received 6,566, a 57 percent increase.
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If your vehicle gets damaged when you hit a pothole, it's possible for you to receive money from the city for repairs, but it's rare. Indianapolis denies about 95 percent of pothole claims.
To win your case, you have to be able to prove the city knew about the pothole and had reasonable opportunity to fix it. What is "reasonable" depends on weather conditions, other pothole requests and how many DPW workers are available to repair potholes at the time.
You can increase your chance of getting money by following the directions and submitting all the necessary documentation, including invoices for the damage and photographs of the pothole and damage.
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DPW is also planning to resurface about 66 lane miles of road this spring, once the weather warms up a little more, at the cost of about $156,000 per lane mile.
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