TAMPA, Fla. — Neighbors have learned to dodge potholes in South Tampa.
Homeowners living on Oklahoma Avenue between Westshore Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway would like to see the road repaved. They said they are dodging dips in the road because of the potholes.
"You kind of get fearful of driving through the area because you don't know if it's going to hurt your vehicle or not," said Jeffrey Nietupski, President of the Gandy Neighborhood Civic Association.
Neighbors also said potholes are a concern on roads like Himes Avenue, MacDill Avenue, Bayshore Boulevard and Interbay Boulevard.
"They feel that it has been neglected. They feel with all the development coming down here, they would like to see more money poured into our infrastructure," said Nietupski.
The city of Tampa said it keeps track of roads with poor PCI ratings. PCI stands for Pavement Condition Index. The city uses PCI ratings to measure the pavement condition and life expectancy. The city said the roads have poor PCI ratings, but the city has no funding at this time.
Starting in 2020, the city may have funds to repave one or more of these roads.
The city is paving South David Blvd. and East David Blvd. Construction is scheduled to start within the next 18 months. There is also a city of Tampa Water Department project along those corridors that is being done first.
Neighbors in South Tampa hope their turn is next.
"Holes, potholes all up and down. You see where they filled some of them and two months later, they got to come fill them again," said William Fells, neighbor.
Neighbors can make pothole complaints by calling the city's Customer Service Line 24/7 at 813-274-3101. Repairs can usually be made within a few days.
