INDIANAPOLIS--You’re still seeing Indy Dept. of Public Works crews and contractors filling potholes and strip patching, and if they haven’t gotten to your street or your work order yet, there are reasons for it, says Public Works Director Dab Parker.
“This is the fifth straight day. So, Mother Nature kind of blessed us this week. We’ve had good weather and hot asphalt,” said Parker, in a Friday interview. When the weather is warmer they can use a hot asphalt formula that is more durable when fixing potholes.
“We’ve closed out over 1,800 service requests that residents have called in, put out over 800 tons of asphalt for potholes alone. We’ve been doing strip patching on some of the worse streets,” said Parker.
He said they’ve used 5,000 tons of asphalt for the strip patching.
“We’re moving on the major thoroughfares. We’ve targeted those first. So, if we haven’t gotten to your major thoroughfare, we’ll get to it soon,” he said.
Parker said they have fewer than 1,000 service requests left on the major thoroughfares, and that those are being prioritized because more people travel them, faster, and they can become a safety risk.
Parker said you can expect to see them out next week again trying to complete the remaining service requests and strip patching where there are major problems. Much of what they can get done depends on the weather, which is less than dependable in late winter.
“We hope that we can get some more decent weather next week to really tackle all the issues out there,” he said. “As long as there’s good weather we’ll be out there working for the people of Indianapolis.”
