A busy intersection in Covington will be closed for 10 days so that crews can replace what they're calling "nightmare" decorative bricks.Crews will be closing Madison Avenue and MLK Boulevard/12th Street to traffic beginning on June 13. They will take 10 days to replace the street's driving surface.The project costs $217,000 and involves tearing out the decorative brick pavers at the intersection and replacing them with concrete. Covington officials said this will solve what has become a driving hazard and "a maintenance nightmare."According to city officials, almost from the moment the bricks were installed years ago, they started twisting loose, popping up and being torn into pieces.“Although it’s beautiful, this is a major intersection that gets a lot of traffic, including a lot of heavy trucks making turns, and the bricks can’t handle it,” said Bill Matteoli, assistant project engineer for the city. “If you sit there and watch, you can literally see the bricks twisting under the tires of these trucks as they make the turn. Decorative bricks were never meant for an intersection that gets these numbers and this weight of traffic.”Whenever the bricks would pop up in the past, crews would replace them, but after some time, they were unable to find replacements so they started patching the holds with asphalt.“It’s been a constant battle,” said Public Works Director Chris Warneford. “And people are tired of dodging bricks.”Starting June 13, crews will remove the bricks, the concrete subbase and the gravel below that. They will create a new road surface from the dirt up.“It’s better to grin and bear it and get it done and get out,” Warneford said.
A busy intersection in Covington will be closed for 10 days so that crews can replace what they're calling "nightmare" decorative bricks.
Crews will be closing Madison Avenue and MLK Boulevard/12th Street to traffic beginning on June 13. They will take 10 days to replace the street's driving surface.
The project costs $217,000 and involves tearing out the decorative brick pavers at the intersection and replacing them with concrete. Covington officials said this will solve what has become a driving hazard and "a maintenance nightmare."
According to city officials, almost from the moment the bricks were installed years ago, they started twisting loose, popping up and being torn into pieces.
“Although it’s beautiful, this is a major intersection that gets a lot of traffic, including a lot of heavy trucks making turns, and the bricks can’t handle it,” said Bill Matteoli, assistant project engineer for the city. “If you sit there and watch, you can literally see the bricks twisting under the tires of these trucks as they make the turn. Decorative bricks were never meant for an intersection that gets these numbers and this weight of traffic.”
Whenever the bricks would pop up in the past, crews would replace them, but after some time, they were unable to find replacements so they started patching the holds with asphalt.
“It’s been a constant battle,” said Public Works Director Chris Warneford. “And people are tired of dodging bricks.”
Starting June 13, crews will remove the bricks, the concrete subbase and the gravel below that. They will create a new road surface from the dirt up.
“It’s better to grin and bear it and get it done and get out,” Warneford said.
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