INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Mayor Joe Hogsett and the Indianapolis Department of Public Works recently unveiled the city's Stormwater Improvement Capital Program, which invests more than $40 million in stormwater infrastructure in 2019. The projects not only affect neighborhoods that will experience better drainage but longer lasting pavement on roadways. Standing water on roadways leads to deterioration on roadways over time.   With specified projects to be constructed this year and the years immediately following, the stormwater improvement program increases drainage capacity and water quality in neighborhoods throughout the city. The stormwater improvement program also devotes more than $131 million to new projects in the city's neighborhoods over the next four years. Some of these projects include under-road culverts, levees, dams and the neighborhood-wide introduction of new street-side drainage infrastructure with new green infrastructure such as hybrid ditches. These projects will be found across the entire county, in every township. “Thanks to the more than $40 million dollars we are investing this year in stormwater improvement projects, residents who used to worry about an inch of rain in the forecast will have greater peace of mind,” Hogsett said. “This critical investment in our neighborhoods not only keeps standing water off our streets, but also dramatically improves the longevity of our city roadways.” Some of the outlined stormwater projects are also designed specifically to provide drainage for streets and roads, increasing the lifespan of the city's roadways. Working in tandem with the stormwater improvement program is the ​street sweeping plan set to begin this spring. In addition to cleaner roadways, the street sweeping plan removes debris that might otherwise make its way into storm drains, which contributes to local flooding and negatively impacts the lifespan of streets. Some of the 2019 stormwater projects include:

• Upper Blue Creek Watershed Drainage Improvements
• Perry and Franklin Townships Drainage Improvements
• ILFPP Rehabilitation of Federal Levees
The 2019 Infrastructure plan includes 167 lane miles of resurfacing this year as a part of a larger initiative by Hogsett focused on improving Indianapolis roadways. The $400-million infrastructure plan over the next four years to rehabilitate bridges, rebuild roads and increase pedestrian safety was passed unanimously by the City-County Council and outlines planned projects for Indianapolis through 2022.