INDIANAPOLIS–If you’ve been driving on some really rough streets, you’re not alone. The Indianapolis City-County Council is looking for ways to fix as many streets as they can, but now has to look at what the North Split project is doing to the condition of city streets around the interstates.
“This body has been trying to find ways to keep that traffic going around the city as it’s supposed to. But, as we know, 465 is also a parking lot,” said council Vice Pres. Zach Adamson, at Monday’s meeting. He was recently in a Public Works Committee meeting, looking into traffic troubles.
“We are in constant conversations with INDOT. Right now what we’re trying to do is curb the traffic in general, becase it’s not only destroying our infrastructure, but it’s also dangerous,” he said.
Some business owners WIBC spoke with recently along Mass. Ave., echoed those concerns.
“We’re watching vehicles in huge numbers, filling in streets that were never designed to hold this kind of traffic.”
Adamson said that includes semi trucks being diverted off of the interstate, forced to take surface streets to get either to their destinations or back onto the interstate to continue their trips.
“I just want to remind everyone that $25 million of this fiscal (budget) goes to rebuilding and reconstructing our residential streets,” said Councilor Crista Carlino.
Adamson was asked whether there may be additional money beyond that designed to help fix the problems left behind by the trucks and the extra traffic. He said that the city is always looking for ways to restructure debt to potentially free up additional money, but that has not happened this year.
“We did at least establish a formula for understanding just how bad the streets are and that was a great part of the conversation.”
