Jacksonville mayor joins crew fixing potholes to show need for funds

City Council vice president joins Lenny Curry, Public Works on job site

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two weeks after the I-TEAM showed massive potholes and cave-ins on the streets of Jacksonville, Mayor Lenny Curry himself joined crews out making repairs Wednesday.

Curry was in the Beechwood Community of the Southside where a sanitary sewer line and a drainage line collapsed to drive home his point that City Council needs to approve funds he budgeted for next year to fix hundreds of similar situations around the city.

Council Vice President Scott Wilson joined Curry and Public Works employees at the job site in Wilson's district.

People in the neighborhood said it's been a problem for a while and they are glad to see the city making repairs.

"I am glad they are fixing it," Joseph Owen said. "People get their tires stuck and this is also the elementary-school bus stop. Kids should not be playing in and around that. Kids can get hurt."

Last month, News4Jax document cave-ins and potholes, some up to 5-feet wide and 6-feet deep. Some of those have been repaired, including the Beachwood issue that was fixed Wednesday.

"You got to take care of the basic stuff in people’s neighborhoods. It is a quality-of-life issue," Curry said.

Curry said there are about 400 similar problems that need to be addressed in Jacksonville and that is why he has budgeted over $6 million for road repairs and $12 million for street paving in the budget year beginning Oct. 1.


About the Author:

Jim Piggott is the reporter to count on when it comes to city government and how it will affect the community.