You don’t really notice the road under your wheels until it gets bad. Then it’s all you notice. This year, the City of Fort Worth is putting $10.4 million toward fixing that — not with promises, but with pavement.
On Tuesday, the City Council got the update: the Transportation & Public Works Department (TPW) is in motion. Ten projects. More than 80 streets. Construction already underway since January. It’s not just about patching up what's broken — it’s about getting ahead of the cracks.
“The goal is to maximize lifespan of roadway and arrest the deterioration before it reaches the critical phase,” said TPW director Lauren Prieur. “We continue to find ways to stretch our dollars and make them go farther.”
That strategy is already paying off. The extra funding is expected to save the city more than $50 million in future reconstruction costs, according to its website. It’s maintenance now or much bigger bills later.
To make the most of that $10.4 million, TPW is leaning into cost-sharing efforts — like the 50/50 Program with the Water Department — and using a range of maintenance tools including pulverize and overlay (POL), depending on the need.
There’s a dashboard that tracks the progress. The coverage? Massive. TPW manages infrastructure across 350 square miles — that’s 244,000 acres of city streets, alleys, and arteries.
Why does it matter? Because keeping up with what’s already here, while building for what’s next, is the only way to meet the growing demand. The city’s been behind on funding for pavement maintenance, and that gap — $62 million deep — isn’t going away without consistent investment.
The Fiscal Year 2025 budget increase is a start. But the work has to continue — mile by mile, block by block.
It’s not flashy. But it matters.
