Public Works: Detecting Potholes with Routeware

The Challenge

Bloomington's Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for various tasks that keep the city functioning smoothly. They address issues such as curb complaints, debris removal, yard waste, fallen branches, and more.

Patching potholes and responding to uReport requests (where residents can notify the City about potholes, graffiti, etc.) often feels like a game of Whack-a-Mole for the Public Works employees. However, thanks to the innovative leadership of Michael Large, the Special Projects Manager at DPW, an existing technology is being used in a new way  to proactively resolve infrastructure issues throughout the city, before they are even reported.

The Idea

In 2021, DPW implemented its new Routeware technology. You can read the success story about Routeware here. This software utilizes cameras and driver notes to accurately track and report the status of trash and recycling pick-ups at each residence. When reviewing video footage from the cameras about a specific residence one day, Michael caught sight of a pothole that could cause damage to a car or bicycle. Instead of waiting for a uReport to come in, Michael had a crew sent out to patch the pothole that same day. That’s when he realized that he could use the video footage from Routeware in a new way - to proactively look for potholes, fallen trees, broken curbs, or other hazards on roads and sidewalks!

The Cost

Michael needed to review the video footage to answer resident requests anyway, however, spending extra time to specifically look for infrastructure-related issues is a new task that is currently being done sporadically. If it were done once a week for every route, it could take someone up to 100 hours of footage to audit each week! 

Potential costs savings include eliminating fuel and labor used when DPW is roving around to resolve uReports. Using this method, DPW can now proactively identify problem areas and directly target them in a sequenced manner. In addition, DPW can avoid potential tort claims resulting from damage to vehicles the potholes may cause. Out of 23 pothole tort claims, the City has paid on two for a total of $344.50 since 2019. With this new technology, Public Works can address potholes faster to prevent those claims from being filed. 

The Benefit

Michael now reviews the video footage daily to ensure that no vital information has been missed. While reviewing the footage, Michael encounters the usual suspects: broken curbs, missing street signs, graffiti, and branches needing to be cleared from the road. On occasion, DPW will find and return a lost dog if it has been microchipped (and if not, Animal Care & Control steps in.)

Additionally, Michael is working with Innovation Director, Devta Kidd, to make the video review more efficient by using artificial intelligence (AI) to scrub the video and look for things like street signs that need to be replaced, street signs that are obscured by overgrowth, hedges encroaching on a sidewalk or dangerously low-hanging branches in addition to the pothole, sidewalk, and curb-related issues that he currently looks for. 

This technology has been fully functional and “bug” free since January, allowing DPW to familiarize themselves with the new technology. Now, Michael has notified the street division about dozens of potholes, missing curbs, and a missing manhole cover that could have injured a cyclist or driver. In the future, DPW plans to collect and track more of these data points to further quantify the time and money saved. 

Department(s): Public Works, Office of the Mayor - Office of Innovation

Department Point(s) of Contact: Michael Large, Special Projects Manager, Devta Kidd, Innovation Director

Partner(s): Routeware

Partner Point(s) of Contact: n/a

Date Implemented: 2021