At the Common Council Code and Infrastructure Committee meeting last week, Rob Perry, superintendent of Public Works, reported on the status of the stretch of Harry Howard Avenue that's been closed since March 16.
Investigations discovered that a gasket about six feet below roadway had failed, and the water spraying out from the failed gasket had undermined the road, causing the pavement to crack. The failed gasket has now been replaced with a more robust one.
Rebuilding the roadway's substructure will be completed this week. Once that is done, they need to wait for the asphalt plant to open for the season before the road can be paved. According to Perry, that should happen in a couple of weeks. When the road has been repaved and the guardrails installed, the road will be reopened. Perry predicted that it would be a couple more weeks before Harry Howard Avenue can be reopened. As he told committee, "I said four to six weeks at the very beginning, and we're going to be four to six weeks."
Perry's report to the Code and Infrastructure Committee can be heard here, from 17:41 to 23:31.
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UPDATE: Here's a statement from the mayor's office on the subject, received this morning.
Tentative Timeline for Reopening of Harry Howard Avenue
We are nearing completion of repairs to Harry Howard Avenue. The road will be milled this Thursday, followed by paving and replacement of guardrails. Timelines can shift due to numerous factors. We anticipate the road to reopen by no later than May 15th.
Have their been any data about how many vehicles go over this bridge on an average day? The closure seems to have had massive impact on surrounding roads.
ReplyDeleteRob Perry - thank you for always leading with photos in your Common Council reports and responses to Gossips.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you need to get the road open in days not weeks?
Obviously the asphalt plant being closed is beyond your control and a rate-limiting factor.
But if, theoretically, that was the only road in and out of town, how quickly could you have fixed it without incurring more cost?
Just curious...
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As a Harry Howard resident who doesn't drive, this has been heaven, and I wish we could be half as inefficient on this as we are on sidewalks. A bit of road goes down and all of a sudden we're quick and competent, but despite paying significant taxes I'm still walking in the dirt and muck on the shoulder just beyond that bit of road like a frickin hobo, in front of a house where the homeowner isn't being held responsible for having or maintaining a sidewalk, and it's obvious the city isn't going to put one there either. And because there's no sidewalk, it doesn't get shoveled in winter, so I gotta choose between trudging through muck, gravel and snow, vs walking in traffic. I usually choose the latter. I haven't worn one nice pair of shoes since moving to Hudson. Anyway, enjoy the competency while it lasts. And those of us who travel on legs can just go pound sand.
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