Illustration by Ryan Johnson
Q: I reported a huge pothole on my street to the Mayor’s Action Center more than a month ago. Can I just fix it myself?
A: Your frustration is understandable. At the end of winter in Indianapolis, we all want to search “fix a pothole” on YouTube. That said, this is not a DIY project. Turns out, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works frowns upon private citizens taking matters into their own hands. They tell us you need a general contractor’s license and an excavation permit, plus bonding and insurance in case the work goes sideways. And rest assured that if you try to dump driveway compound into the offending crater while dodging traffic—you’d have no authority to close the street—odds are excellent that something will go sideways. Patience may not feel like a virtue here, but it beats getting arrested, sued, or hit by a car.
