April 14, 2008 Letter

Andy Clark writes about his Survey of Brick Borders of Central Business District (CBD) Street Intersection Crosswalks

A survey of the condition of brick borders of street intersection crosswalks in the central business district was made on this day.  The following street intersections were inspected:

Main and Burlington       Main and Warren

Forest and Warren       Forest and Gilbert       Forest and Curtiss

Main and Curtiss       Main and Maple       Main and Grove

The deteriorations observed included the following:  chipped, cracked, broken, pieces and entire bricks missing with the voids filled with asphalt.  The asphalt filled areas were especially unsightly.  Conditions at specific intersections were as follows  (where the north, south, east, west crosswalks are referenced with respect to the center of the intersection):

Main and Burlington	(east)	-	cracked and broken brick with missing pieces of brick voids filled with asphalt.
Main and Warren	(west)	-	broken and missing brick with voids filled with asphalt.
Forest and Warren	(west)	-	slightly broken brick corner at curb.
Forest and Gilbert	(west)	-	chipped, broken and missing brick with lots of asphalt fill.
Forest and Curtiss	(east)	-	cracked, broken and missing brick with voids filled with asphalt.
Main and Curtiss	(south)	-	uneven, chipped brick;
' '	(west)	-	cracked brick.
Main and Maple	(east)	-	missing, broken brick with lots of asphalt fill;
' '	(south)	-	missing, broken brick with voids filled with asphalt;
' '	(west)	-	cracked brick.
Main and Grove	(west)	-	cracked, broken, missing brick with voids filled with asphalt.

Merely replacing like kind bricks will only continue the problem.  If decorative brick borders are wanted an entirely new design will be necessary.  Different bricks such as old time heavy brick street pavers will have to be used which are about 4 inches square.  They will have to be secured in a steel reinforced concrete foundation which is 16 inches wide and 18 inches deep with a trough molded into the top surface into which bricks are set and mortared in place.  The top of the bricks should be set about an eighth of an inch below the foundation top and adjacent roadway surface.  This may seem like overkill but bricks are small and must withstand the constant traffic, especially that of heavy vehicles and snow plows.

Andrew J. Clark, P.E.       Downers Grove, IL

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