INDIANAPOLIS – It’s been an especially rough season for drivers in Indy.
The skies opened up on Friday bringing the biggest snowfall of the season to central Indiana. But it quickly warmed up outside, causing the roads to open up as well.
Some Indy neighborhoods are more treacherous to navigate than others.
“Driving down to south Broad Ripple, we’re at 54th and Monon here, just like the entire way, so many potholes,” business owner Melissa Tolar explained.
Melissa Tolar owns Prairie General in Broad Ripple and said her short drive to work feels like riding a rollercoaster.
“There’s a crazy route to get through,” Tolar added. “You just have to drive really slow. It’s kind of scary sometimes.”
Before the weekend whiteout, Indianapolis Public Works crews had been working 10-hour days filling potholes with hot mix asphalt.
“When I say we’ve really been in a blitz using that material while we’ve got the weather, while we’ve got the access to that material, we’ve really been utilizing that,” DPW Public Information Officer Corey Ohlenkamp said.
After shifting their focus to clearing the roads of snow, crews now have about 2,500 potholes to return to. Ohlenkamp says the city has filled nearly 85,000 since January 1.
“It’s a very labor-intensive process, it’s very hard work,” he explained. “Friday we said, ‘Hey guys, we got to get you back in – we switched to AB shifts,’ which were very long rotations for them on snow coverage, and then obviously coming back into Tuesday, saying ‘Hey, here’s a shovel, here’s a tamper, let’s get right back at it.’”
Indiana Department of Transportation East Central District Public Relations Director Kyleigh Cramer said their crews are also hard at work taking care of the craters appearing on area interstates.
“Usually we see it around the places that get a lot of traffic, and a lot of heavy traffic as well so 465, I-69, as well as 31 and I-70. Those are our big hotspots,” Cramer said.
INDOT is encouraging Hoosiers to continue driving distraction-free, and keeping an eye out for potholes this season.
You can report a pothole in the city of Indianapolis through the Mayor’s Action Center. To report one on a state road or highway, contact INDOT at indot4u.com or 855-INDOT4U.