Ypsi's slap-dash road project
My neighborhood was the first to benefit (approx. 5 years ago) from the recent street reconstruction project now more or less completed. I freely admit that I was among those that voted for this program in the special election held, though I had some reservations about the cost-- which has come back to haunt us somewhat when viewed through the less than rosy lenses of today's financial crunch in Ypsilanti.
As the construction project progressed to the actual paving, my "alarm flags" went up. For you see, I am not a novice in the area of "bituminous asphalt paving" as I have worked in the field for 15 years.... So I know whats what in regards to the ol' blacktop. I saw what I must term short cuts taken in regards to the work done in my 'hood. The main culprit is the top layer was paved over the existing concrete gutter pan-- where it had been exposed before. Now, this is often done, but only if the existing streetscape hasn't any issues with drainage or 'fall' to functional catch basins (storm drains). But I still don't like it as asphalt and concrete are dissimilar and expand/contract at different rates eventually crumbling the thin asphalt veneer that is usually applied over the gutter pan. Here is a photo from in front of my home:
As you can see, there are issues with drainage-- this after the repaving job has been "completed" in my area. Yes, this is a personal bitch/gripe, but I am tired of scooping up a trash can's worth of heavy silt after every heavy rain-- silt which is often loaded with glass, nails and other debris, deposited right in front of my drive approach. Mainly what irks me is that one only has to use their 'mark 1' type eyeballs to see that the street rises in both directions away from my drive, so one wonders what the surveyors where seeing when they peered through their transit levels. My ire is further raised when I recall that during the reconstruction my lawn extension served as a dumping/storage site for soil pipe, fire hydrants as well as enough manhole block and brick to construct the catch basin that should have been emplaced there to begin with, grrrr!
Great, this post has become something of a rant-- oh well, so be it! Since I'm venting I might as well post this next pic of the condition the streets are fast becoming like in my area:
Yup! Deeply cracked. This, despite promises that funding is/was set aside for such a little thing as maintenance within the scope of the repave project in the first place. Oh sure there was some half-hearted attempt at filling cracks last summer around here-- but let's just say if a crew of mine left the job (at best half finished, or half-assed, your choice) I'd have sent them out the following day-- or sent them packing, as this was a weak-kneed effort, really.
Then you follow all this up with all the post paving patching around here. Though there was good coordinating with YCUA for water/sewer upgrades-- Where was the coordination with Michcon/DTE? It seems that as soon as a road is redone, it just gets recut and a patch placed in the pristine asphalt by that entity. To wit: First Avenue was completed last fall, and already Michcon/DTE have two cuts in the road. This is the case all over town, Monroe and Congress foremost in my mind. These are not emergency service cuts, just general service cuts, at least for the most part-- Things that can be allowed/planned for (Admission: My company is a sub-contractor to Michcon, so I know a bit about the above).
To conclude my rave, I am starting to wonder if this street repave was necessary-- or at least the scope of it. Perhaps we should of only allotted funding for the absolute worst of the streets (memories of bumpy S. Grove and Summit comes to mind). Sure I'm using the all-seeing hindsight here, but considering the budget crunch the city is facing now, and the additional tax burden this project is, and then throwing in my own observations on what I perceive as the shortcuts taken or are being taken with some aspects of the resurfacing job, well I just have to wonder.....
As the construction project progressed to the actual paving, my "alarm flags" went up. For you see, I am not a novice in the area of "bituminous asphalt paving" as I have worked in the field for 15 years.... So I know whats what in regards to the ol' blacktop. I saw what I must term short cuts taken in regards to the work done in my 'hood. The main culprit is the top layer was paved over the existing concrete gutter pan-- where it had been exposed before. Now, this is often done, but only if the existing streetscape hasn't any issues with drainage or 'fall' to functional catch basins (storm drains). But I still don't like it as asphalt and concrete are dissimilar and expand/contract at different rates eventually crumbling the thin asphalt veneer that is usually applied over the gutter pan. Here is a photo from in front of my home:
As you can see, there are issues with drainage-- this after the repaving job has been "completed" in my area. Yes, this is a personal bitch/gripe, but I am tired of scooping up a trash can's worth of heavy silt after every heavy rain-- silt which is often loaded with glass, nails and other debris, deposited right in front of my drive approach. Mainly what irks me is that one only has to use their 'mark 1' type eyeballs to see that the street rises in both directions away from my drive, so one wonders what the surveyors where seeing when they peered through their transit levels. My ire is further raised when I recall that during the reconstruction my lawn extension served as a dumping/storage site for soil pipe, fire hydrants as well as enough manhole block and brick to construct the catch basin that should have been emplaced there to begin with, grrrr!
Great, this post has become something of a rant-- oh well, so be it! Since I'm venting I might as well post this next pic of the condition the streets are fast becoming like in my area:
Yup! Deeply cracked. This, despite promises that funding is/was set aside for such a little thing as maintenance within the scope of the repave project in the first place. Oh sure there was some half-hearted attempt at filling cracks last summer around here-- but let's just say if a crew of mine left the job (at best half finished, or half-assed, your choice) I'd have sent them out the following day-- or sent them packing, as this was a weak-kneed effort, really.
Then you follow all this up with all the post paving patching around here. Though there was good coordinating with YCUA for water/sewer upgrades-- Where was the coordination with Michcon/DTE? It seems that as soon as a road is redone, it just gets recut and a patch placed in the pristine asphalt by that entity. To wit: First Avenue was completed last fall, and already Michcon/DTE have two cuts in the road. This is the case all over town, Monroe and Congress foremost in my mind. These are not emergency service cuts, just general service cuts, at least for the most part-- Things that can be allowed/planned for (Admission: My company is a sub-contractor to Michcon, so I know a bit about the above).
To conclude my rave, I am starting to wonder if this street repave was necessary-- or at least the scope of it. Perhaps we should of only allotted funding for the absolute worst of the streets (memories of bumpy S. Grove and Summit comes to mind). Sure I'm using the all-seeing hindsight here, but considering the budget crunch the city is facing now, and the additional tax burden this project is, and then throwing in my own observations on what I perceive as the shortcuts taken or are being taken with some aspects of the resurfacing job, well I just have to wonder.....
posted by Rob at 6:46 PM
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