News

With the precision of a surgeon (or maybe an expert video gamer), Paul Lundegreen and Emilio Aguilera are improving city streets – in record time. Lundegreen and Aguilera are two members of the City of Amarillo (COA) Street Department trained and skilled in operating one of the three new DuraPatcher Pothole Repair trucks, which are helping revolutionize how the city maintains and improves streets. “We can now fill a pothole in a matter of seconds, depending on the size of the pothole,” said Lundegreen, a Utility Worker with the COA Street Department. “The trucks are working pretty good for us,” said Aguilera, Equipment Operator I with the COA Street Department. “Actually, they are working very well.” Before the arrival of the trucks, the city could repair an average of about 20 potholes a day (depending on size of the potholes). This was through a manual repair process which could include multiple city staff and road closures. City council approved the $923,445 purchase of three DuraPatcher trucks last August. The trucks began repairing potholes in May. The personal best so far? The city was able to repair 146 potholes in one day. “So far these trucks have met and exceeded our expectations,” said Len Hill, COA Street Superintendent. “The old way was all manual. With these trucks you can maintain the same repair rate all day long.” An operator inside the truck cab uses a control stick (much like a video game) to guide a nozzle at the front of the truck. The nozzle cleans the pothole area with compressed air, applies an emulsion tack coat, fills the pothole with coated aggregate and then covers the pothole with dry aggregate. Traffic can resume in a matter of minutes. Lundegreen and Aguilera received two to three weeks of training before taking a truck out on the streets to tackle potholes. “Is it like a video game? I guess you could say that,” Lundegreen said with a

The Georgia Street Reconstruction Project continues with a change in traffic patterns effective Thursday. The project, which began earlier this month, will include closure of the northbound lane of Georgia Street at South Loop 335 with a detour via Western Street and Farmers Avenue. The anticipated duration of the closure and detour will be approximately two weeks, depending on weather conditions. This is part of the first phase of the project that addresses utility relocation ahead of street reconstruction. Final completion of the project is scheduled for November 2028. The project will divert traffic around the construction area and to minimize impact to the public as much as possible. Motorists are advised to please heed all traffic signs in the area. Attachments are included with maps indicating the change in traffic flow beginning Thursday.

The City of Amarillo (COA) Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), in collaboration with Outdoor Amarillo, is announcing the return of the Independence Day +1 Fireworks and Drone Show. Independence Day +1 is free. Outdoor Amarillo is a non-profit organization partnering with PARD to promote outdoor recreation and community engagement. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. July 5 at John Stiff Memorial Park and will continue throughout the evening, ending with the firework and summer-themed drone show.  Free festivities include: Parking will be available on-site or shuttles will be available from the Amarillo High School parking lot and the Randall High School parking lot. PARD would like to thank the following sponsors: Austin Hose, Budweiser, Amarillo National Bank, Alpha Media, Pak-A-Sak, Xcel Energy and Parkhill. For more information, contact City of Amarillo Media Relations Manager David Henry at (806) 378-5219 or by email at David.Henry@amarillo.gov. ###

In recognition of Juneteenth, the City of Amarillo (COA) offices will be closed on Thursday (June 19). The COA service schedule for the week of Juneteenth: The schedule for Solid Waste services: Ross Rogers and Comanche Trail Golf Complexes will have normal hours of operation. For more information contact City of Amarillo Media Relations Manager Dave Henry at 806-378-5219 or by email at david.henry@amarillo.gov. ###

For the 34th straight year, the City of Amarillo (COA) has earned the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fiscal year 2024-2025 COA budget. The award represents a significant achievement. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, COA had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as: Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award. There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America. For more information on the GFOA, go to: www.gfoa.org