Charles Street repaving being done over
Two alert readers, Catherine Lawson of the North Baltimore area and Matthew Loraditch, wrote Getting There to report a disturbing sight: work crews on Charles Street in Baltimore tearing out asphalt that had been laid down only a few moths before. Both had the same concern -- that the city had botched the job and that taxpayers would be stuck for doing the job twice.
According to the city, that isn't what's happening. Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Department of Transportation, said the work is indeed being redone. But she said it was a case of contractor error and that it won't cost taxpayers a dime to have it fixed, though some motorists might have to endure the traffic delays that result from the do-over.
Barnes called the situation "an excellent example of the city doing strong oversight of its contractors."
The repaving job involves a stretch of Charles Street between Northern Parkway and the city line. Barnes said the $200,000 job had been awarded to M.. Luis Construction of Baltimore. But city inspectors found the initial work didn't meet the city's specifications.
"The asphalt wasn't laid correctly. It was kind of choppy," she said. Calls to M. Luis were not returned.
Barnes said the work was originally expected to be finished this week but that rain is now expected to push completion into next week.
City transportation officials regret the inconvenience to motorists but had to insist the work be redone now so that they didn't have to come back in a year or two and do it again, Barnes said.
Lawson estimated that the road work adds an additional 8-10 minutes each way to her commute on Charles Street. But she was reassured to learn that the work was being redone at no cost to the city. "As long as you're not paying for the same thing to be done twice because it's a city worker, that's great news," she said.
Comments
Someone ought to examine the intersection of S. Charles and Ostend. After only a year of being repaved, that intersection is sinking. It's actually worse than before being repaved.
Posted by: taser54 | October 12, 2011 8:51 AM
I emailed the City's Dept of Transportation with the same concern last week and received the same response within a few hours. I was extremely pleased with how quickly and effectively their office communicated!
Posted by: Sarah | October 12, 2011 9:03 AM
How can it be "an excellent example of the city doing strong oversight of its contractors" when the paving work was completed months ago. The problems should have been identified during construction and not months afterward. Were the inspectors sleeping during construction? Paving problems can and should be identified and corrected while work is on-going, not months later.
How can the City take credit for this? Credit is when you identify problems and correct them right away, not months later.
Interesting enough, they did not put permanent lane markings on Charles street after repaving. They also paved Roland Ave (north of Northern Pkwy) few months ago and there are no permanent lane markings there either. Does it mean the City will make the contractor repave Roland Ave?
Posted by: Asif | October 12, 2011 9:59 AM
The work that was done on Roland Ave between Northern Parkway and Lake Ave should also be inspected. It is badly done and is not going to hold up.
Compare that to the excellent job done by Gray's and Sons on Lake Ave below Boy's Latin and Falls Rd
Posted by: Martha | October 12, 2011 1:18 PM
@Mr. Dresser: any chance of a follow-up with the city DoT on both the N. Charles St. re-repaving (now over a month since your article and still not done--granted the weather has been variable...) as well as comment from Martha about the paving quality along Roland Ave that was done around the same time? I've both ridden my bike and driven along the Roland Ave. section, and it is horrible! It's very possible it was smoother BEFORE the repaving!
Posted by: traveler | November 11, 2011 11:43 AM