Construction Update - February 11, 2010

Progress continues on the 100 Block of S. Gay Street as evidenced by the next several pictures. The picture below is of the first pour of concrete to form what will be the new roadway in front of the VMC building.

We have been able to continue to work, despite the weather, on the eastern sidewalk in front of the Emporium. The glass block panels were taken out along with the concrete for the sidewalk in one big slab. The concrete was then jackhammered away from the panels so we can reuse them in the new sidewalk. The next two pictures show the exposed underground area adjacent to the Emporium.

The picture below is of the Construction crew removing the concrete from the glass panels.

The picture below is of one of the glass panels before the concrete removed. The Contractor estimated that each of the panels weighs up to one ton.

The above picture is of the removed glass panels along with other sections of sidewalk. Amazingly these sections are coming loose as a whole. Also work has begun on saw cutting the columns for retrofitting. In this picture is one of the beams that has been removed.

The picture below is of the equipment used to help remove sections of sidewalk as well as the beams.

As most of you know, the street lights have been removed (see next two pictures). My understanding is that KUB hopes to install temporary street lighting tomorrow. I know it is very dark out there at night. KPD had been notified and is taking steps to insure security.

Since all of the street lights on each section of roadway were wired together, there was no way to simply remove one pole at a time unfortunately.

Admittedly, we dropped the ball on timing on this and I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Some utility work remains and gas meters are due to have some work, I believe, Thursday night. KUB is proceeding as per their normal notification schedule. Also next Tuesday, my understanding is that the water service will be off starting at 2:00 am to possibly 5:00 am for a large portion of the 100 Block. KUB should also be in the process of notifying those folks affected here as well.

I have had some questions posed to me about parking and non-functioning meters. I called traffic engineering as well as 311 for answers and found out the following information.

If you find a parking meter that is not working, please call 311 and report this to them. They will give you a service call number. If you get a ticket because of a parking meter malfunction and have reported it, simply include the service call number and a brief explanation along with the returned ticket. KPD will check with engineering and if it is determined that the meter has malfunctioned, then the ticket is waived. If it is determined that the meter is functioning, you will receive a second notice to pay.

We appreciate any help in reporting meters that are out of order whether a ticket is received or not. I had heard that many meters on the Gay Street Viaduct did not work, but our traffic folks tell me they only found one meter not working last week. If some part of what I have just reported is not exactly correct, I will post the correction as soon as I find out as this has been an issue for some time and has not been made as clear as perhaps it should be.

Please use extreme caution for the next few weeks when traveling west along the Jackson Avenue sidewalk (see picture below). The very end of the sidewalk is in our construction zone so folks must cross over onto the north crossing of S. Gay Street on the Viaduct, which I know is very inconvenient, before crossing back over onto the western sidewalk to head downtown. I know my friends at the Fire Street Lofts will be inconvenienced by this and we will try to get this repair done as quickly as possible.

Please don't forget our Streetscapes meeting on February 16, 2010 at 5:00pm at the Emporium.

This meeting will generally just be an update on construction and a way for folks to voice any other concerns. I will probably not have a formal agenda for this meeting but topics likely to come up include the closure of Vine Avenue and its impact on valet parking and deliveries and also future timing for various sections of the work. If you have any questions or concerns, please share them with me and I will make sure we have folks available for discussion at the meeting. I hope to see you there.

Also this weekend is the Mardi Growl parade on Saturday, February 13, beginning at 11:am and ending on Market Square. Proceeds from the event benefit Young-Williams Animal Center.

It is really an amazing sight to see all of the dog breeds represented there.

Please stay warm and dry and as always, thanks for your interest.