Indianapolis pothole patching ramps up to make up for lost time
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After white-knuckling their way through another brutal pothole season, Indianapolis drivers may finally get some relief as spring arrives.
Why it matters: A single pothole can do serious damage to your ride, and there are still thousands on Circle City streets, thanks to inconsistent temperatures and snow in March.
Driving the news: As of Monday afternoon, Indy DPW was tracking 12,200 pothole complaints for the season, down about 3,200 complaints when compared with the same time last year.
- Crews filled 28,000 potholes in March, using around 500 tons of asphalt.
- Indy DPW spokesperson Kyle Bloyd said there were 6,800 new complaints in March.
- The city started this week with about 5,700 open tickets.
Caveat: Each complaint or service request service may include multiple potholes.
What's happening: Streets crumble and pothole counts climb when the bitter cold steps aside and lets warmer weather roll in.
- Potholes form when water from melted snow seeps into pavement. When that water freezes, it expands and raises the concrete.
- Roads shift and contract as it gets warmer, creating gaps between the pavement and ground that result in road damage when impacted by vehicles.
- The worst potholes typically form in March.
What's next: The kind of rapid warm-up that potholes love.
- The National Weather Service says high temperatures will continue to climb this week, hitting a peak of the low 80s by Thursday.
Yes, but: While the warm conditions are likely to produce even more potholes, Indy DPW workers who have been stuck treating slick roads will get an opportunity to do extensive strip-patching and keep annual complaints trending down.
- Bloyd said there were "a lot of lost days" as low temperatures compressed what should have been a four-week head start on repairs into a much tighter window.
What he's saying: "Our strip-patching program really helps take care of those problematic top layers coming out of winter on our thoroughfares (and) our budget for strip-patching in 2026 is three times what it was in 2025," Bloyd said Monday.
- "That came out to be perfect timing with this wild winter all we just had."
Zoom out: Outside of pothole patching, a wave of larger projects to improve road conditions long term is set to accelerate.
- Bloyd said work will pick up soon on a project to convert 29th Street from White River to Central Avenue and 30th Street from White River Parkway East Drive to Meridian Street into two-way streets.
- Phase one of the Madison Avenue reconstruction is underway, with phase two expected to begin around mid-year.
Plus: Bloyd said the city is actively planning for 2027 and beyond with new dollars expected from legislation passed this session that would change the rules for how the city can access additional road funding.
How it works: To report a pothole, contact the Mayor's Action Center at 317-327-4622 or go online.
- It can take as long as a week and a half for requests to be closed, but weather can affect timing.
We want to know: What street has Indy's worst potholes this season? Email [email protected] to send us your nominations and pothole pictures.