These Indianapolis neighborhood streets will get $25 million of work next year

Ninety miles of residential streets throughout Indianapolis will get complete makeovers next year through a rare $25 million infusion of cash.

These are the roads that almost never get repaired, because in a city where infrastructure investment is chronically underfunded, they lose out to thoroughfares that get more traffic.

Thanks to frugal budgeting during a once-a-lifetime pandemic, it's their time to shine.

"While they may not bear the weight of our entire city, they have borne the weight of years and years of constant use without significant repairs," Mayor Joe Hogsett said on a cratered stretch of South Auburn Street next to Rhoades Elementary School Thursday morning, which is one of 280 segments of roadway scheduled for overhauling repair next year.

This $25 million investment is the second phase of Hogsett's Circle City Forward Initiative, which by the end of three phases will include $240 million worth of upgrades to parks, public safety facilities, roads, trails and greenways.

From May: City to spend $25 million of reserve money to reconstruct residential streets

Each of the 25 council districts in the city will see work, determined in part by councillor-submitted priorities, pavement condition ratings and the median income of their districts — an effort to make the distribution more equitable, as low-income neighborhoods have historically been neglected.

The full list of streets can be found at indy.gov/activity/major-transportation-projects.

The money comes from savings that accumulated during the pandemic, when city departments instituted hiring freezes and cut discretionary spending, bracing themselves for potential shutdown-induced budget shortfalls.

The streets will not simply be repaved, but entirely reconstructed, reflecting a shift in strategy for the Department of Public Works from surface-level fixes to more expensive, but more longterm, deeper fixes.

Read: Indy's road budget has doubled in recent years. It's not enough, and it won't last.

The projects are now in the design phase and will go out to bid in the spring, Director Dan Parker said. Work will begin in the spring and summer, and most projects should wrap up by the end of 2022, though some require extra drainage work that may roll over into 2023.

By the end, this work still only addresses 2% of the need the city's residential streets have, he said.

"We acknowledge that this is not the first and only step in [addressing] infrastructure, but it's a hell of a start," Councillor Paul Annee said.

More money could be on the way with the passing of the federal $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which comes on the tails of $420 million the city is receiving through the American Rescue Plan.

Of that, $50 million will go toward stormwater capital improvements in Indianapolis. It's still unclear how the infrastructure bill will shake out for Indianapolis over the next 5 years.

"The next few years will represent the most significant opportunity Indianapolis has ever had to invest and maintain its infrastructure," Hogsett said.

Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis residential roads will get $25 million of work