Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry held a press conference Monday to recap the city’s 2016 construction projects, and to give details on road improvement projects for the New Year.
The City invested $25 million toward nearly 500 infrastructure improvement projects in 2016. That’s roughly three times more than what the City was spending on infrastructure ten years ago.
Henry says quality local infrastructure leaves a good first impression to visitors of Fort Wayne.
“If we expect them to come in, we better have a showcase for them,” said Henry. “So when they drive in through our major thoroughfares and see good looking streets and sidewalks and streets, I think that’s going to have a lasting impression.”
In 2016, Fort Wayne used the funds to repair streets and sidewalks, while adding trails and street lights where needed. Next year, the City will again dedicate $25 million toward the Division of Public Works for more infrastructure improvements.
Henry notes one area the Public Works department may focus on:
“A lot of our neighborhoods, especially the ones that have been annexed in the past few years, they were built with concrete streets,” he said. “And concrete, once it begins to crack and fall apart, it takes a lot of time and money to fix those.”
Preliminary projects for 2017 include an improvement of Coldwater Road between Washington Center to Coliseum, North Anthony Boulevard from Crescent to Coliseum, and fixing trails on Hanna Street and St. Joe Center Road.
