Potholes and uneven streets present challenges for everyone using roads in Tampa Bay, significantly disrupting daily routines.
For years, Tampa has struggled with inadequate resources for road resurfacing, according to officials. They recently updated residents about the progress of the “Fix-It-Fast” initiative, which aims to tackle these issues effectively.
Since its inception in September 2021, this initiative has addressed nearly 18,000 potholes throughout Tampa, a city well-acquainted with hazardous potholes.
“Potholes are a lot like relationships; they can be quite challenging at times. In Tampa, we’re committed to easing those rough patches,” stated Mayor Jane Castor.
She acknowledged that while they are working to address the issues promptly, merely filling potholes is a temporary fix, and the ultimate goal is extensive road repaving.
“To better address this, we’ve deployed two dedicated paving teams. Equipped with everything needed, they can repave our streets in most cases, cutting both time and cost in half,” she added.
Resurfacing the city’s roadways is something city officials said has been under-resourced for years, and they are continuing to build on the last several years of budget increases to fix the roads.
“We have even some rollovers from previous years. This fiscal year, we have spent about $10 million of the $14 million allotted to us. So, some of that is carry over, some of that is reallocated from unspent funds elsewhere within the city budget. So, we will have a healthy budget next year of $41 million,” Interim Mobility Director Brandon Campbell said.
To help keep the roads as safe as possible, the city has also fixed 2,000 downed street signs, like stop signs and wrong-way signs.
The city said this program is designed to fill in reported potholes within 72 hours of being reported. So, if there is one in your area that you would like to report, click here.
