Day 84 - Settling down for a long winter's cure

The last pictures posted showed a fuzzy road late a night. Now that I have a second to breathe (and take pictures), and now that the rain is clear, I can finally show you how our side of the street turned out.
What you are seeing in the picture is the forms sitting out on the street to prevent would-be drivers from traversing this still green concrete expanse. Though, someone did decide to knock down a few of our barrier cones last night.
Unfortunately, the light of day shows several problems with the finished project.
The surface shows signs of the Tuesday's rain - see the shot of the curb below; this is permanently in the surface of the concrete. Looking down the center of the street, the south side of the street looks cleanly grated, while our side looks to be a bit rough. Worst of all are the spots left behind by the late-night sawer. I have two pictures below - and yes, that has dried that way. It won't come off.

I'm afraid the best grade I can give this job is C+. At least the worst is over...

Night 79 - Rude Awakening

...Or at least it would be if I could go to sleep. Right now, there's a guy with a concrete saw just down the street. Five minutes ago he was in front of my house. "It has to be done" he says...but now? At 10:30pm?
...
Ok, slight interruption - the noise stopped, and we heard loud voices. The police have shown up, and they've got some explaining to do. And I really need to get to sleep.
Here's the pictures from a few minutes earlier (pre-police).

Day 79 - Concrete and Water Don't Mix (or so I thought...)

No pictures today thanks to the late nights at work. And I thought the day when the paving actually got done on the north half of Ave. None I would be happy. Instead, I find out that the paving was done today while it has been raining.
Proof of rain? Well, since it's too dark to take pictures, here's the NWS link.

We'll have to see how it goes, but I don't have high hopes for wet concrete.
According to Jim Spaid, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA:
"Unexpected rain or hail on the surface of freshly placed concrete pavement will damage the surface of the concrete and decrease its durability under the wear and tear of traffic."
(source: http://ams.confex.com/ams/84Annual/techprogram/paper_74637.htm)

Day 77 - (re) Bar (for Ave) None

Ok, so the title was a bit contrived. But we've finally made measurable progress - as of yesterday, we have re bar on the north side of Ave. None. We can only hope the concrete will follow shortly - though the week's forecast makes that seem unlikely (rain, rain, rain). So it looks like we'll be without a driveway at least through Christmas.
So I'll leave you a few pics to ponder...and I'll try to be back when the paving starts.

One discrepancy to note, however - while the south side of the street had alternating 1/2" diameter and 3/8" diameter re bar. the north side has only 3/8" diameter. See the picture below with the measuring tape, which shows some of the 1/2" stuff sticking out from the south side of the street compared to the 3/8" on our side. I am a little disappointed there; maybe a call to the city is due? (especially considering they won't pave for a few days with rain on the way...hmm...)

Day 73 - Today?

Not many posts lately, because since the concrete came in on the south side of Ave. None, there's been no measurable progress. Cure times, they say.
So why write now? Because according to the construction notice we got Monday, today is the day the work was supposed to start.
So why no pictures? No progress. Maybe day 74 will be the day for the north side of Ave. None. Stay posted.

Day 45 - Concrete!

As you can see, there's real progress. Tuesday the rebar came in, and today the south half of the street looks like a street again - the concrete is poured and curing.
Special thanks to my wife this week for taking the pictures - my schedule doesn't work well with the new time and getting pictures in the evenings.
A few pictures below of rebar-only look and the concrete being leveled.

Day 43 - Coming Soon to a Dirt Pile Near You

November 5, 2007
I've been a bit behind on updating the actual progress that occurred since late last week. On Friday afternoon we came home to see forms along the side of the road as well as a pile of rebar. The next block down already had rebar laid out.

Tonight the forms are in place on the south side of the street, and I suspect we'll see the rebar in place shortly. So, the only question - will friends and family be able to get to our house for Thanksgiving? Only time will tell.

Day 32 - Down in the Dumps

October 25, 2007
As you can see from the above picture, there's been activity, but I am not sure that I would call creating a pile of rubble in front of my house "progress." My wife almost didn't get out of the driveway in time to pick me up at the train station due to the work doing on in the street. It looks like they've added some lime to the road - for whatever that is supposed to help. The picture below shows the trace of lime around the curb.


BUT - over a month after this started, there are still no signs that paving is any closer today than it was back when things started...

Day 30 - Blues of Another Kind

October 23, 2007
No pictures due to no progress. I could show you mud again, but what's the point? You've already seen that. The only newsworthy item is that my bulk trash was never picked up. The customer service agent told me that the route was checked off, and that it was also "verified." Therefore, it's not possible that my trash could still be on the curb. I assured her that it was. When did I put it there? Why, Sunday evening - before the pick-up start on Monday. And my neighbor's pile was there then too - and no, it wasn't picked up either. Yes I am sure - I'm looking at it out the window now. Was there anything strange in the pile? Not if old wood is strange for bulk trash. What are my options? Drop-off point, you say? No, I don't have truck. And even if I could fit all that wood into my poor old Camry's trunk, I wouldn't do it.

Bulk trash blues - I guess we really have been forgotten. At least by one of the city's service agencies. I guess they don't like driving down mud-logged morasses either. I can't say I blame them, but I can say they're responsible...just not responsive. 30 days since the concrete came up, no signs of life...

Day 27 - Blue Grows the Plastic Grass...

October 20, 2007
It's been another slow few days on the "ave. none." I did take the following pictures yesterday morning - we noticed some strange "blue grass" sprouting from strategically placed holes in the street bed. It would appear they are used for marking a line under the street, but not sure if there's more to it than that.
If anyone knows for sure what they are, please let me know.

Day 24 - First signs of Life in a while...

October 17, 2007
After the monsoon we had on Monday, the street became a morass of mud again...so much so that a grater came back through today to smooth things back down. Other than that, no progress since...well, since the first week. As you can see from the "out the front door" shot it was garbage day again today, and, yes, it was picked up.

Less certain is the fate of my "bulk garbage" pile on the curb. Since this is the week of the third Monday, the big truck with the claw is supposed to come through and grab up the pile...if it can get through. Hmm... The service center for Fort Worth Sanitation said not to worry until Saturday, but I have a funny feeling this isn't going to go so good.
A few more shots of the street:

Day 15 - Mud Factory at Full Production

October 8, 2007
Finally back with no new progress to report (on my street at least). It has, however, rained today and I've gotten a chance to see the street (or lack thereof) wet. Thought I'd share:

Day 9 - More of the same

October 2, 2007
So no photographic evidence again today, but no work (on our street). Closer inspection has revealed rebar and even (gasp!) concrete on some of the other roads in the neighborhood also under construction.
I was thinking that there was hope for a quick completion, but I heard today from a neighbor (who regularly talks to the construction workers) that there has been a problem down our street a couple of blocks, and that the machine that "eats" (removes) the pavement broke down trying to clear it. That must be why it stopped last Thursday, so I don't know when they'll finish that up. Likely there will be no pavement until they do.

And no, I haven't found a foreman's house to park in front of...

Day 8 - The long wait has begun

October 1, 2007
As you can see, no new pictures today. That's because nothing has really changed since last Thursday. And so the long wait begins.
I did find one casualty after Thursday's post - our street light is now out. It wasn't until later that I realized the broken pipe that I saw near the light was actually the conduit for the wire. Hope no one got hurt while digging that up.
Despite the fact that there are likely to be no changes for a while, I will likely continue posting "out the front door" pictures just to prove it. But just not today.

Day 4 - Just a Little More

September 27, 2007
The street and all curbs are officially gone. The dust is here.

I caught the grater coming through for tonight's "out the front door" pic.







I've got a few more pictures; I guess I should show the new driveway approach first to be fair after yesterday's tirade. Also, see the view of the street in its final form as well as the dust build-up. Enjoy!

Day 3 - Who Needs a Driveway?

September 26, 2007
As you can see, we went from "closed to thru traffic" to "closed to traffic, period." Do you see anyway to get past the trailer at the end of the block?
My wife parked the car around the corner after dropping me off at the train station this morning, so we didn't the full aftermath until she left work, picked my back up at the train station, and drove home. Turning down the street, this was our view (not to mention being greeted by sounds of large rocks scraping the underside of our car!).

We got down as far as the driveway, and realized that there was a problem - an 8" grade change from the dirt pathway that was once our street to the remains of our driveway approach. Do you see any way to get up that? (at least in a sedan - I am sure you 4x4 SUV and truck drivers would wish for a commute so entertaining and would probably tell me if you could, "that's why I have one of these." Tell it to the gas pump...)





I will have to hit pause on the cynicism and, in the spirit of fairness, give the city credit on two accounts - our neighbor across the street had a doctor appointment this morning and all work stopped (except for fixing a temporary driveway approach) so that she could leave and return. Kudos on that. Double kudos for having a temporary approach laid in for everyone on the block by the time we got home from church.

Half-kudos to the sanitation department - the trash was picked up (to my astonishment, considering the conditions), but the recycling remains. I'll call that fair enough.

For grins, a few more views of the carnage; pray for no rain, because this could be a real mess if it does! (walking the half block from around the corner to the house today showed us that even in "best" conditions, this could be dangerous). First, the obligatory "out the front door" shot, followed by a few others:

Day 2 - Closed to ThruTraffic

September 25, 2007
Well, today the street is gone. When I walked home after getting off the bus, I had to dodge construction equipment as I watched my street being swept away. The view out the front door is a little different today.















My wife couldn't even get to work today because she was trapped in the driveway with construction equipment on both ends of the street. Our only recourse seems to be parking on the side street, but if it rains, how will we walk to the house? Through the mud? Let's hope those are questions we don't have to answer too soon...


A few parting shots of what we've got; first the western view:















And now east:

Day 1 - When the sidewalk ends...

This blog is meant to track the progress of a Fort Worth street renovation (name withheld for my privacy!)

Day 1 - September 24, 2007
Today the sidewalk was torn up starting early in the morning. The aftermath is shown to the left and below. The picture to the left is the "out the front door" view, and I will try to make this a regular view so the progress (or lack thereof) is evident. The others are just for fun...