INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Department of Public Works has ensured our cars won't be as busted as our brackets this March by filling up 109,987 potholes across Indianapolis, as pothole season's wrath officially descends upon the Midwest.
DPW announced Friday they used 2,370.31 tons of hot- and cold-mix asphalt to fix 7,251 service requests so far in 2023.
The 109,987 is an increase from 100,000 potholes the city reported just Thursday.
The department credited $10 million set aside for thoroughfare strip patching, and that they "expect to see major improvements in the coming months," according to a release sent to 13News.
Aside from those allotted funds, DPW said hot-mix asphalt, a mixture crucial to the city's street maintenance program, was also available earlier in the season.
Asphalt plants that supply the mix normally open in March or April, but have opened earlier in recent years to supply street crews with materials they need. The plants opened Feb. 21 this year.
Noble though the pursuit of filling 100,000+ potholes may be, Indy residents will still see many of them scattered across city roads, thoroughfares and driveways in the coming weeks.
Don't suffer — as I certainly haven't — in silence: you can report potholes to RequestIndy website, the RequestIndy mobile app on iPhone or Android, or by calling the Mayor's Action Center at 317-327-4622.
This week, crews have visited more than 100 areas throughout Marion County to fill a total of 17,987 potholes. Those areas include:
• West Michigan Street
• West 10th Street
• West Morris Street
• South Post Road
• Falls Church Drive
• South East Street
• East Sherman Drive
Crews have also started strip-patching for the season, a process that works by having specialized equipment mill the entire width of a travel lane down before laying a new surface along an extended segment of the road.
Less “seams” in the new pavement make it less susceptible to precipitation and therefore deterioration. Areas that were targeted this week for strip-patching include:
• 71st Street from Meridian Street to Williams Creek Drive
• Kessler Boulevard North Drive from 38th Street to 56th Street
• 71st Street from Allisonville Road to Keystone Avenue
• 16th Street from Central Avenue to College Avenue
• Carrollton Avenue from 16th Street to 19th Street
• Franklin Road from Southport Road to Shelbyville Road