There are two topics I would like to focus on in my monthly article to the citizens of Salida. The first is to speak about the incredible run of events we have had in our city for the past three weeks. The second is the road project that is under way.
FIBArk and Ride the Rockies arrived in Salida at the same time. Participants of both events gave Salida a huge thumbs up. FIBArk continues to impress me with the huge diversity of events. From my perspective there is more going on than a three ring circus and it is a blast for all of those who show up. I continue to have the greatest admiration for the athletes whose sportsmanship and skill is amazing.
Artwalk brought a lot of people to Salida last weekend. It was fun to tour the various venues and watch people react so positively to our local artists works. Art is an important part of our culture and town. The dedication and hard work each artist employs is hard for me to imagine.
This week begins a period of celebration centered on July 4th. By the time you read this the Air Force Academy Band will have already played in Riverside Park. I am sure that the band will have, once again, provided us with a great evening of entertainment.
Check the newspaper for the other many events and concerts that will be happening over the 4th. There will be some great music in Riverside Park and the CMC Big Band will once again be playing at the SteamPlant for dancing on July 5th in celebration of the first anniversary of the Event Center’s opening.
Above all, the Fourth of July is another opportunity to thank those that have served our country.
The chip seal project has been quite an adventure. I will start by reminding everyone that our streets were evaluated using the criteria created by the National Transportation Agency. After that evaluation another set of empirical standards determined which roads demanded what kind of work. About 9.5 miles of our 36 miles of streets qualified for chip seal this summer. About 3 miles of streets will receive an overlay soon.
The project has had its problems. In my opinion, the chief issue has been scheduling. In the project’s early stages weather played a factor but even when the weather settled down crews where not sticking to published schedules. This increased the difficulty motorists had finding their way to a destination.
Right away, there was an issue with the chip adhering to the street. The city’s Public Works Director had the chip removed and reapplied. This was done at no cost to Salida. The laying of the chips got far ahead of the contractor’s ability to sweep and remove the chips. Public Works Director Rob Vance stopped the chip application and directed the contractor to catch up with the sweeping.
In certain locations the adhesive started to bleed to the surface of the roadways. Mr. Vance noticed this on the weekend. He notified the contractor and the same day sand was applied to the bleed out zones to absorb the material that was coming to the surface (this is the sand you have seen in certain areas of Poncha Blvd. and F Street). Finally, on Tuesday June 30th Rob Vance stopped the project. His concern regarding the scheduling and quality of work gave him little choice.
On Wednesday Mr. Vance met with the project contractor. The decision was made to continue applying the fog coat on streets that are showing no bleed through. No money has been paid the contractor. There is a performance bond that insures the work will be done completely and to the standards stated in the contract. The contract governing the job includes a warranty to assure the expected durability of the project. I am writing this article on Wednesday evening. By the time you read this things may have changed regarding the chip seal project.
Finally. Road work is inconvenient. Chip seal is considered the most cost effective way to maintain roads that fit the criteria for its application. Appropriate maintenance of roadways costs one tenth of replacement. Soon we will begin a 3 mile overlay project at four times the cost of chip seal. Next year we will replace roads that are simply beyond repair. The total replacement of a street is incredibly expensive. To responsibly take care of our road system will reduce long term costs.
Since this article was written the bulk of the chip seal project has been completed. If the weather remains stable, the downtown area will have the fog seal applied this coming week. Except for small areas that need remedial work the first phase of this summer’s road work will be complete.
Soon the asphalt overlay portion of this summer’s roadwork will begin. While it will also be inconvenient the area’s involved are much smaller and the traffic disruptions should be more easily handled.
Mayor Rose and Rob Vance also had a useful discussion about the chip seal and overlay projects at the conclusion of the July 7 council meeting which can be seen in this short video excerpt.
Nice work Mayor Chuck. Good job and thanks for the update.