State of Partition (and So Much More)? Not So Good!

As HUDseen reported two weeks ago in an article titled SINKHOLE CITY, a small hole appeared on South 3rd Street at Partition (we bicyclists keep an eye out for these things).  DPW soon got to the problem below and sometime last week they covered their excavation with asphalt.  Job done.  

Last Wednesday, DPW had to dig up more of Partition, this time one block away at 2nd Street in front of Talbott.  I didn't see a sinkhole there before work began, but something must have been wrong with a pipe below.  We had torrential rain the previous day.

Later that day, with barriers up at two locations to the east, I noticed a tiny hole on Partition's surface, this one being behind 321 Union.  The hole appeared in the middle an old patch job, which likely means DPW found a problem there years ago and now the problem has returned.  Try again. Get out the pavement saw and the earth excavator, the 4 pickup trucks, the dump truck and the crew of four.  Tell Rob Perry to grab his camera, too.  Back to Partition.

Updates:  Two weeks after DPW closed off the 600 block of Rope Alley due to excavation to get at a pipe problem behind the county-owned building at 610 State, nothing has progressed and the alley is still off limits to vehicles.  The lack of activity there was starting to creep me out.  But, yesterday, I was told by the Columbia County Facilities Director, Brian McDonald, that it is one of their pipes leading from the building that needs repair.  So, this has not been a city issue for two weeks; DPW opened up the street and discovered that the broken pipe causing the sinkhole was not theirs.  Brian told me he hopes that their contractor will start work "this Thursday or Friday," adding that it all depends on the weather cooperating.  The pieces to assemble a trench box have been waiting nearby on a trailer in 610's parking lot since late last week, which means that the hole that needs to be dug will be rather large.  Had this been a DPW problem, the alley would have been reopened at least a week ago.  If I were the mayor, I would have been on the phone with Ron Knott and Matt Murell early last week asking what the hell is taking the County so long with their problem behind 610 State, why there is zero activity there, and that we would like Rope Alley back yesterday, please.  There should be a daily fine assessed to the County for allowing any city street or alley to be blocked for more than 7 days, regardless of what the problem is below the surface.  Maybe that would inject some urgency into the matter.  "YOU HAVE ONE WEEK TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM IN OUR CITY UNDER OUR STREETS AND ALLEYS.  YOU ARE OUR GUESTS.  ACT LIKE IT."

Last fall, at the end of Prospect Street near 6th, two huge excavations were made in the street to install new water-related pipes and infrastructure for the Pocketbook Hotel.  The holes were eventually filled and patched with asphalt, possibly by DPW but I'm thinking not.  Both of them are already badly sunken and in need of replacing.  Try again.  Maybe you've felt the bumpity bump bumps as you drive or ride on Prospect Street.  It ain't gettin' any better.

A few days after HUDseen showed a picture of the tiny sinkhole in the 700 block of State, DPW was on it.  That problem was taken care of, apparently, and the hole was filled and covered with stones (it still awaits a covering of asphalt).  Then it was on to Partition.

Rob Perry recently announced that this year he will not be spending any of the city's State DOT funds on repaving even one city street.  We have over $3 million in the State Touring Routes fund -- a whole lot more than we have in the CHIPs fund -- and Rob Perry has decided it's in the city's best interest to wait until next year to spend any of it on creating new smooth streets.  No council members seem to mind, nor do they feel that any surfaces of streets or alleys in their wards are in need of replacement.  Are they all blind?

While the water pipe break that occurred last week or the week before in the 300 block of Columbia may have been repaired by DPW, the hole awaits a covering of fresh asphalt.

The cone that appeared over a hole next to a storm drain in the 700 block of Columbia 3 or 4 weeks ago is still there waiting to be remo ed by DPW so that they can begin digging. 

Today, I noticed a crew of 4 DPW workers in two vehicles making their way very slowly up the 500 block of Long Alley.  They were trimming trees on private property with branches hanging over the alley.  4 workers, two vehicles.

As you may have noticed in the past ten days or more, all of Fairview Avenue outside of Hudson (!) is in the process of being repaved.  The State DOT awarded Colarusso the job.  Last Friday, I was told by the head engineer at the local DOT office that the milling of the old surface was completed and that a new asphalt surface was scheduled to be put down this week, though I saw no evidence of that yesterday and a few days of rain is on the way starting later today.  If you dare to bicycle on Fairview, be very, very cautious.  The entire thing is a rough, dangerous mess designed to kill a cyclist or two.