Updated: Jan 3, 2009 06:47 AM
Sandra Chapman/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - The freezing and thawing of Indianapolis roads is causing a pothole problem and the Department of Public Works is taking new steps to keep up.
"Whenever we have several freeze-thaw cycles, recurring freeze-thaw cycles, we're going to have issues with potholes," said DPW spokesman Steve Hardiman.
With pothole season comes increased business for local garages, who are fixing a lot of bent rims.
"This is a solid steel wheel that's been bent right here and the customer came in for a shimmy and they were losing air," said Daniel Ott, service manager of a Goodyear garage.
From light rims to heavy duty, the problem is the same.
"This is a larger aluminum wheel, because it was bent right here," Ott said. "In most cases, it is potholes. It's street depressions where they just hit it, those aluminum wheels can't take it."
At a time when money is tight, motorists need to be on the lookout. A bent rim could put a serious dent in your wallet - anywhere from $150-500 a tire.
City officials are taking new steps to help motorists cut their losses. Last fall, DPW spent $1.4 million on four new crack-sealing machines to keep water out of the pavement. They're using a more permanent hot mix. A group of process experts known as "lean six sigma black belts" from Eli Lilly came in to streamline DPW's response time down from a high of 19 days.
"Two of the districts are within a 48-hour turnaround time, which is pretty good and that is our goal," Hardiman said. "And one of the districts is within a four-day turnaround time.
"In the next five years or so, we're going to see a drastic decrease in the number of potholes."
In the meantime, it's up to motorists to watch out for holes to avoid big payments.
The city has an emergency response team to deal with potholes that could create a serious public hazard. Motorists can contact the Mayor's Action Center at 327-4622 to report those locations or to file a tort claim for personal vehicle damages.
But a forewarning, there are very specific criteria you must meet before the city will cover your cost.
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