City goes back to circles for insets, switches to new bricks
A week after Vandalia’s downtown advisory committee recommended a diamond pattern for brick sidewalk insets, and to use original bricks pulled from Gallatin Street for those insets, it shifted gears.
Acting on a committee recommendation made earlier in the evening, the city council voted to switch back to a circular design for the brick sidewalk insets, and to go with new bricks for the insets and for sidewalk edging.
The advisory committee voted last week to endorse the use of bricks being pulled up from Gallatin Street for the sidewalks, due to their historical value. City officials believed that the cost of using those bricks would be comparable to that for new bricks, even with the cost of cleaning the old bricks.
But the general contractor for the downtown enhancement project, Hank’s Excavating of Belleville, told City Administrator Jimmy Morani on Monday that it would be difficult to produce “a uniform look” with the old bricks.
Also, Project Manager John Kramper said, the use of the brick pavers presents cutting difficulties, and the areas where brick is to be used would “most likely have a variable cross slope.”
The consistency of the new bricks, Kramper said, will help to ensure a more level and attractive finished product.
The contractors’ per-square-foot cost of installing the brick pavers is either $22.50, $21.50, depending on the size of the brick paver to be used. Hank’s cost to install new bricks is $19 per square foot.
The advisory committee was also told that it would be easier to maintain and repair the insets and edging if new bricks were used.
In recommending the new bricks, Morani told the committee, “I would not recommend the city use the bricks underneath Gallatin Street.
“It will likely cost more and cause a potential delay,” he said.
“In addition, it was discovered that there are three kinds of Alton bricks underneath the roadway, which means finding enough quantities of a uniform brick may be difficult,” Morani said.
In choosing to recommend the use of the new bricks, the advisory committee chose to go with the original plans for the sidewalk insets – circular. Contractors said the new bricks would be easier to cut and otherwise work with in installing the insets.
Stamped and colored concrete will be used instead of bricks in crosswalks on Gallatin Street. Mayor Rick Gottman said the state does not allow the use of bricks on state highways (Gallatin Street is a continuation of Old Ill. Route 140).
Also at its Monday meeting, the council approved two more change orders for the downtown projects.
One change order calls for the replacement of a broken-down sewer main and the installation of two manholes south of Gallatin Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.
The cost of this work is $29,805.
The second change order allows the replacement of a 3-inch water main in the alley north of Gallatin Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.
The cost of this work is $10,010.
Alderman Chad Feldpouch asked, “How many more of these (change orders) are we going to see.”
Gottman and Public Works Director John Moyer said the council should not be seeing many more change orders of this nature.
“This is a bad section,” Moyer said. “Chances are, we won’t have anymore.”
Gottman added, “Until you open it (the road) up, you’re not going to know the condition (of those lines).”
They, along with Lorne Jackson of HMG Engineers, also told alderman that there’s a more clear picture of the infrastructure lines east of Fifth Street because a camera has been run through those lines.
