INDIANAPOLIS — A pothole that is 16 feet wide and nearly one foot deep is causing a stir on Forest Avenue. It is one of more than 2,500 pothole complaints The Department of Public Works has received in the first 31 days of the year.
“This has been a continuous problem for several years,” said AACI General Contractors owner Vick Clifton.
Clifton owns a business on Forest Avenue and has to drive over this east-side Indy pothole multiple times a day.
“We have made a lot of calls because it is very serious,” said Clifton.
Clifton said it has been a problem for three years. He added that he has even paid money out of his pocket to soften the blow.
“Last year we filled it with gravel,” said Clifton.
Other businesses have even had cars damaged.
“We have had the front air dams taken off of a couple of our smaller vehicles,” said Ray Wallis.
Wallis also works on Forest Avenue at Nelbud Services Group. He and Clifton have made calls to the Department of Public Works, and both said nothing has been done.
“I understand that there are a lot of these going on,” Wallis said, “but these things are swallowing vehicles.”
The giant pothole isn’t the only eyesore on the streets of Indianapolis.
“As of this morning, we received 2,652 pothole complaints for this year,” said Imani Keith.
Keith, the public information officer for Indy DPW, said the department has completed 961 of these service requests.
“DPW always has crews out when the weather allows,” said Keith.
Right now, the holes are only filled with a temporary fix.
“Very early in the winter months the crews use a cold mix which fills potholes, but doesn’t bond with the existing pavement as well as the hot mix does,” said Keith.
Keith said secondary roads like Forest Avenue will be treated later.
“When we get towards the midseason, we will start focusing on those secondary streets,” he said.
If you want to file a pothole complaint click here. To see the areas with the most requests submitted to DPW, click here.
