Public Works committee advances DPW’s 2026 budget amid calls for more traffic-safety funding

The Indianapolis City Council Public Works Committee on Sept. 25 recommended proposal 2‑59‑2025, the Department of Public Works portion of the 2026 city-county budget, to the full council with a due-pass recommendation after a department presentation and public comment on traffic safety.

"Tonight we have a short presentation to break down some of the different road work options that DPW has and outputs we should expect next year," Director Wilson told the committee. He presented a range of treatments the department uses — pothole filling, strip patching, in-house D4 district crews, residential resurfacing and thoroughfare resurfacing — and explained how the department prioritizes work using Mayor's Action Center data, pavement-condition indices and traffic data.

Wilson told the committee that contractor strip patching in 2026 is estimated to cover about 200 lane miles and that DPW crews and contractors together handle the range of short- and long-term treatments residents see. "Pothole filling ... this year alone, we filled about…