Detroit is gearing up to fix roughly 6,300 cracked and uneven sidewalks this year, putting about $9.5 million on the line to tackle a long-running backlog that has had some residents walking in the street instead of on the pavement. City officials say crews will focus first on sidewalks in front of occupied homes, with the work slated to wrap by the end of the construction season.
Mayor Mary Sheffield has pitched the sidewalk blitz as a nuts-and-bolts neighborhood upgrade in her first budget, saying it is about “simple quality-of-life things like lights and sidewalks.” As reported by The Detroit News, the plan directs roughly $9.5 million to fix about 6,300 addresses by the end of the year.
City Council has signed off on an $8 million contract with Giorgi Concrete LLC and Major Contracting Group, a move that, combined with leftover dollars from prior years, brings the total pot close to $9.5 million, BridgeDetroit reported. Department of Public Works Director Ron Brundidge told the outlet that crews will be dispatched to specific addresses where repairs were requested and cautioned, “We’re not doing wholesale replacement of sidewalks on individual blocks or neighborhoods.” Homeowners are supposed to get a flyer about a week before work starts, followed by a knock on the door a couple of days ahead of construction.
How to get on the list
Residents who want an inspection or think their address should be added can file a request through the Department of Public Works page on the City of Detroit website or by calling DPW’s service number. The city’s online reporting tools and forms are the main way to submit new requests. According to The Detroit News, some of those requests have been sitting in the system for as long as five years in neighborhoods like Murray Hill, where homeowners say they have been waiting for the city to move.
Budget and timeline
The boosted sidewalk funding marks a jump from last year’s allocation of about $3.5 million and is part of Mayor Sheffield’s push to chew through the backlog more quickly. BridgeDetroit reports that crews have already begun work in at least one council district and that the city expects to finish most of the repair list before the end of the 2026 construction season.
If your address is already on the city’s list, you should see a flyer roughly a week before work, followed by an in-person heads-up just before contractors arrive. If it is not, you can still add your location to the queue for next year through the City of Detroit DPW request page. City officials advise residents to hang on to any confirmation or records of submitted requests and note that notices will be available in Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, and French when needed.
