INDIANAPOLIS -- A new city team will work with the Department of Public Works throughout the year to make sure the pothole dilemmas from this winter don't happen again in the future.
The announcement was made during Mayor Joe Hogsett's summer construction update on Tuesday.
Plans for the new DPW Street Maintenance team, which will consist of 39 full-time employees, were approved during Monday's City-County Council meeting. The team will work alongside the Department of Public Works to enhance the city's $89 million capital improvement program which includes:
- New sidewalks
- Bridge Repair
- Intersection Enhancements
- Resurfacing of Roadways
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“The City-County Council’s approval on Monday signaled to all Indianapolis residents that the time has come to restore our infrastructure in meaningful, lasting ways,” Hogsett said. “Waves of improvement and repair have been fixing their way through our streets for the last few months – now, we have the added resources in place to ensure Indianapolis’ roads remain safe and drivable all year long.”
Hogsett said contractors will still handle the larger street projects, but the DPW Street Maintenance crews will work on smaller projects in neighborhoods and on side streets that may not have taken precedence in the past.
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"The council recognizes our need to ensure Indianapolis' roads remain safe and driveable all year long," Hogsett said.
The city is investing $9 million in new staff, equipment and supplies for the new Department of Public Works team, which is expected to be up and running before the end of the year.
Along with the new team, DPW has already begun purchasing new equipment to update and modernize how they tackle street repairs.
That equipment includes:
- Pavement milling machine
- Injection pavement patching machine
- Infrared pavement heater
- Additional crack sealing equipment
- Equipment trailers
The best way to report a pothole is to contact the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622, or by using the RequestIndy portal.
You can watch the mayor's full announcement below.
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