Making a lasting and meaningful difference in the community and ensuring that Fort Wayne has a safe and efficient transportation system are main areas of focus in the Public Works Division.

With the arrival of spring, we're ready to move forward with a record year of neighborhood infrastructure improvements. Through support from Mayor Tom Henry, City Council and residents, we're embarking on a construction season that will result in $38.5 million being invested across the city.

Goodbye snow, hello spring.

For many residents, it’s the time of year to come out of winter’s long hibernation. This typically involves spending more time enjoying the outdoors and visiting recreational venues and facilities. Travel increases, both locally and nationally - and more travel means more cars on the roads.

Unfortunately, more cars mean more drivers will encounter roads that are experiencing the harsh reality following every winter season: the return of potholes.

 
The American Action Forum determined that the U.S. will be short 1.1 million STEM workers in 2024. A separate study done by the National Association of Manufacturing and Deloitte suggests that the shortage will be 2 million in 2025.

With that issue looming on the horizon, City Utilities partnered with the Anthony Wayne Rotary Club in 2019 to create a scholarship fund for City Utilities' interns. Rotary’s guiding principles include providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene, and creating lasting change. 

The City of Fort Wayne’s Public Works Division has a motto: “In Your Neighborhood.” That motto reflects the commitment the Public Works team has to strengthen neighborhoods, but just as important, it focuses on our ability to work with neighborhoods and the residents who dwell within them.

On the surface, the State Boulevard Realignment Project is a story about a failing bridge built more than 90 years ago, a bridge on a significant City street that often flooded because it was built too low, and the realignment of a road with a sharp curve that resulted in numerous accidents near the bridge.

But this story is more than concrete and asphalt. It’s about protecting history, preserving a neighborhood, working closely with passionate residents, improving safety, and creating a road that meets today’s needs into the future.