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City of Evansville to invest more than $10M in road repairs and safety improvements in 2025

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(Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry)

"Today, I was proud to stand with City Engineer Mike Labitzke to announce the beginning of $7.8 million in road work and repairs for the 2025 construction season. Our roads need work, and while this is an issue that has been building for years - and will require years of work - we will continue using whatever resources we have available to us to improve road conditions and to ensure that Evansville's roads are safe to drive." (Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry, Facebook)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEVV) — The City of Evansville will spend approximately $7.8 million to pave and improve city roadways in 2025, and another $2.25 million to make them safer.

The City says the paving funds are a mix of city budget dollars and Community Crossing grants from the State of Indiana, while the safety projects will be funded by a Highway Safety Improvement Program grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation. All of this will allow the City Engineer’s office to move forward on re-striping city roadways, improving visibility on city traffic signals and undertake several paving projects throughout the city.

“We are aware that there are many roads in Evansville in need of significant repair,” Mayor Terry said. “We drive those roads, and we hear about those roads regularly from drivers who are rightly concerned about road conditions.

“Unfortunately, this is an issue that has been building for years, and even in increasing our own budget allocation– and continuing to receive Community Crossing grant funds from the state – we simply do not have the funds to fully address it today. But we will continue doing everything we can to improve road conditions and to ensure that Evansville’s roads are safe to drive.”

Every 3-5 years, the Metropolitan Planning Organization creates a Road Pavement Index, which scores every road in Evansville based on its condition. The City Engineer’s office then uses this data in determining which roads to pave each year – a decision made based on:

  • The condition of the road
  • The amount of traffic using the road
  • The speed limit on the road

In 2025, the City of Evansville says those factors will lead to the following roads being paved:

Roads being paved in 2025

The roadways currently scheduled for concrete replacement include:

Roads scheduled for concrete replacement

City Engineer Mike Labitzke noted that even in paving all of those roads, the Road Pavement Index indicates that the deterioration in other roads in the city means that Evansville will enter 2026 with city roads in collectively worse condition.

“Based on our best estimates, it would cost about $12 million a year to break even on road conditions,” Labitzke said. “Meaning that, if we spent $12 million on the road, we could re-pave and repair enough roads to improve the overall condition enough to match the deterioration of the other roads. To truly make a difference in improving our overall road quality would require an investment of close to $20 million, for several years running. And we simply don’t have access to those funds now.”

In recent years, the City Engineer’s office has begun using other methods to increase the life of Evansville roads. Crack sealing holds the pavement together, often buying 3-5 years before the roads need fully repaved. And in 2024, the office used an Asphalt Rejuvenation product to help with the flexibility of recently-paved roads, which is expected to add another 5-8 years to the life of that pavement.

“As we continue to look for additional ways to fund our needed road repairs, we are continuing to use every tool at our disposal to maintain and improve the conditions of our roads,” Mayor Terry said.

The 2025 paving season begins Monday, April 7, with milling on Barker Avenue, Fulton Avenue, Campground Road, and Allen’s Lane.

Meanwhile, plans are being designed for the safety updates designated as part of the Highway Safety Improvement Program grant. Those projects include:

  • Re-striping all city streets with a posted speed limit of 35mph or higher
  • Road striping improvements in the Franklin Street corridor, from Fulton Avenue to First Street
  • Road improvements in the John Street corridor – specifically at Heidelbach Avenue, Governor Street, and Garvin Street
  • Installation of radar reporting speed limit signs on Diamond Avenue, Covert Street, and Lynch Road
  • Traffic signal backplates city-wide, increasing visibility of traffic lights

“As a city, we are always looking for ways to make our residents and our community safer,” Mayor Terry said. “This generous grant from INDOT gives us the opportunity to do that by making sure that the marks on our streets are visible, that our traffic lights stand out, and that drivers are traveling at appropriate speeds on those roads that see some of the heaviest traffic. We’re grateful for this opportunity, and look forward to getting to work at making our city streets safer.”