Watertown Sees Problems With New Sidewalks
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They’re basically brand new, but now sidewalks installed on parts of State Street in Watertown look like they need work.
The sidewalk slabs were poured just last year and already they’re starting to crumble on top.
The City Engineer’s Office has taken samples to try to figure out why it’s happening then figure out how to address the issue.
The crumbling is referred to as spalling.
“There’s nothing wrong structurally with the concrete but it’s the finish and the visual,” said City Engineer Kurt Hauk.
On Public Square, crews are trying to get back on track after the sidewalk portion of the reconstruction project was put on hold last week.
Workers switched the concrete mix they were using to avoid the sort of problems that are happening on State Street.
Making the switch requires approval from the state.
“We’re going to push hard. Two weeks would be really optimistic,” said Project Engineer Ken Lanning.
Hauk says the city has received lab results from the State Street sidewalks.
He says he’ll make a decision on what to do next after those results are studied.
See our report:
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14 Responses to “Watertown Sees Problems With New Sidewalks”
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Just a few pointers I learned over the years working in the construction field. Concrete has to be laid in a given amount of time 90 miniutes from the time water is added until the placement. Also finishing the concrete needs to be done as soon as it can be worked ,adding water to the surface after it becomes to hard can bring the batter back up but also can cause the concrete to spall and deteriate. concrete starts to heat after 90 min. and will start to burn if not cooled down when finished a sealer or covering is advised with water as a cooling agent. The time is inportant and should be watched carefully from the time readymix trucks add the water. I HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOU NOW AND IN THE FUTURE Cliff olney sr.
looks like more taxpayers money down the drain!!
My heart goes out to the local businesses of downtown Watertown who have had to endure what has now been years of ongoing construction. That, coupled with the challenges they had already been dealing with in trying to conduct business in a town which focuses most of it’s efforts on accomodating the large corporate chains. If my taxes were going to the City of Watertown I would personally be infuriated, but unfotunately, in a democracy people get what they deserve.
This whole project is a disaster. The traffic on public square has been delayed by the elimination of traffic lanes. Business owners have lost entrance and exit ways. The curbs stick out into traffic, and will be a menace in winter when snow covers them. Someone needs to answer for this fiasco.
There are no problems with the concrete from Eastern Boulevard to N. Indiana Street as that was poured by Watertown Concrete. They switched suppliers last year to Cranesville Block Co. The concrete finishing crew was the same crew, so this is not a finishing problem. New York State DOT says the concrete is structurally sound, maybe true, but this is just their way of not taking responsibility. NYS DOT “approves” everything but they don’t want the responsibility if anything goes wrong. It was their responsibility to make sure the concrete was made and placed correctly. Obviously they did not do that. Now it becomes the city’s problem. The spalling and deterioration is going to continue and the property owners are going to be left to pay to fix it years down the road as it will become thier responsibility. Either the concrete company and/or NYS DOT should replace it all or the property owners should get an indefinite waiver on the sidewalk maintenance/replacement. This is going to be a big eye sore for Watertown.
I have lived here my whole life and I cannot believe what an absolute mess they are making out of downtown. The curbing, islands and lane reductions are absolutely asinine. How is a snow plow going to get around the jutting curbs and tiny intersections? What about fire trucks? Even if these large emergency vehicles can get through the turns and intersections, where do the cars pull over to get out of their way? This is a tragedy waiting to happen and very scary. I have been following the City Council meetings and know that I am not the only one who sees there is going to be some serious issues with this design. I have not talked to one person who likes it or thinks it’s a good idea. It was hard enough to navigate through the square before being a native, now the locals don’t know where to go and the visitors/out of state residents are even more confused than ever. We have endured this construction for 4 years in the hope that it was going to be better. Instead of enhancing businesses as was the original goal with this renovation, people are going to avoid downtown altogether to avoid the congestion and dangerous curbing. I know I will. Something needs to be done about this NOW before it is too late. I’m really glad they are concerned with getting the sidewalks right the first time at least.
Every time i go to the sqaure it seems to be more hectic and dangerous. Drivers dont know where they are surrposed to be. Im so busy not trying to drive up onto a curb that wasnt there the day before, Its almost impossiable to be watching for other cars, Which is usually the first priorty. It all started with the island in front of the Great American. Why would they make driving more dangerous and more like an obstacle course?
im sorry but i seem to think it is all one big mess and you guys are tryin to hard to get everything done all at once around here and its only makin matters worse! there is so many parts of this town that has been tore up its crazy, i just moved back up here from nc and it just looks all run down and one big disaster!! i couldnt believe it. maybe if you try only doin a couple places at a time and not get to far ahead of yourselfs then maybe it would be done better and much quicker instead of causeing all this kayos!!
My main question is how come watertown taxpayers paid for the sidewalks when most all other homeowners in town have to pay for there own sidewalks to be replaced when we do not own them. unless ofcoarse you are fortunate to be haveing road work done then the taxpayers will pay for your walks.
Well i agree with Fred, I’ve been doing heavy road work on long island for over 10 years now, and i’ve found when the state steps in and changes things up, theres chaos. Most inspectors have a 2 or 4 year in school degree, not an on hands clue of whats going on in the real world. And the INSPECTOR title goes to their heads, and things go awry. I’ve been back and fourth to watertown for the past three years, and the work up there goes very slowly. Plus the pay rate stinks up there unuion or not, I work 400 miles south and make more then double, so it’s you get what you pay for …
I have not driven around the square in weeks-I get more and more
curious tho. What idiot did the city and state pay this time to come
up with these impractical, infamous curbs? Did we hire someone from Florida?
The extremely cold winters alternating with the often very hot summers
should oviously pose a unique set of conditions for the choice of materials
to be used in Watertown. MILLIONS have been spent on this. As always
it is mostly STATE money not local taxes. Is this why we always roll over
and play dead when contractors deliver shoddy work? Let’s hope the city
and state REQUIRE the contactors to fix this mess!
Basically.. its from either the curing ,and or mixture, or quality..
Or caused by a snowblower during winter time!
take your pick .. and they must be fixed if not…what is Brand New will look like ..BEFORE.
i agree with robert d,ihave done concrete for atleast 20 years out here in colorado.you have finishers putting water on top of concrete,or they are not curing the concrete in time to keep the moisture in,concrete cracks when it dries to fast.but if the mix is good,then i’d be looking at the way it is being finished,most of all,look and see if they are putting water on top to finish,a little is ok,but to much will get you exactly what you got,spaulding,exspecially in the winter months.i hope you get this fixed,i was back home in september and it was a mess.
How many pedestrians does downtown Watertown expect to be on the square all at once? It looks like we’ll have room for at least twenty lined side by side. I think we need more businesses there, so at least we have somewhere to walk to.