MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis roads are a huge headache for drivers.
If you’re not dodging potholes, you’re hitting bumps from uneven repairs praying you don’t mess up your alignment.
There is good news: If Mayor A C Wharton gets his way, more than $30 million will go into fixing roads next year, just in time for voters to head to the polls.
“Me and my mom were driving yesterday down South Parkway and there were patches. We were like just fix an entire street!” said Memphis driver Aurelia Patterson. “Not to mention, Front Street is terrible.”
She is just one of many drivers who named road after road they want fixed.
Public Works says right now, some of the streets haven’t been repaved in several decades.
“We are on it. You will see a big difference,” said Mayor Wharton.
Mayor Wharton collected $18 million in grant money to fix the roads, and he wants to spend another $15 million in next year’s budget.
That means a whopping $33 million could go into fixing Memphis streets.
Road crews only had $9.5 million to work with this year.
“It could definitely be put to use throughout the city,” said Patterson.
WREG got the inside scoop: parts of New Horn Lake Road, Brooks Road, Winchester Road, Hickory Hill Road, Knight Arnold Road, Ridgeway Road, Front Street and Riverside Drive will get repaved, and that’s just a portion of the list.
Unfortunately, the city has to work out the details like who is going to do the work, so we won’t see any work done for at least another year.
“I think it needs to be speeded up faster,” said Detarious Higginbottom of Memphis.
Mayor Wharton said he wasn’t happy with the timing either, but said in the end, this will stretch funds tremendously.
Public Works reports right now, the city has enough money to repave a road every 50 years.
