Bluestone sidewalk on Main Street. (Photo by David Gordon)
Village of Saugerties special projects coordinator Alex Wade had good news and bad news for the village board regarding the repair of bluestone sidewalks on portions of Partition and Main streets. Reporting on a bid from the only bidder, John Mullen and Sons, Wade said the total amount greatly exceeded the available funds. But the good news, Wade continued, was that the portion of the bid for resetting and replacing the bluestone was slightly under estimate.
Wade said he was not allowed to reveal the amount of the bid until the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has reviewed it.
The curbing was what drove the main cost increases. Curbing requires “cutting the asphalt paving, digging down 18 inches and repaving – three layers – as well as pouring new curbs,” said Wade. “It also requires extensive additional traffic control on a tight corner. These items alone exceed our allotted budget.”
Wade has been working with the Region 8 DOT to resolve the problems. The DOT will allow the village to drop the street curbs, but some curbing would be required at the rear of the sidewalk at the village driveways.
The changes will require revising the drawings and rebidding the project. If the project’s cost cannot be brought to within the amount the village can afford, the state’s contribution to the planning and engineering would have to be refunded, Wade warned.
The village could consider tinted, stamped concrete as an alternative.
The village might have to repay the state for the engineering costs, which Wade said “would be a horror show.”
Mayor William Murphy suggested reducing the scope of the project to bring the cost down. “That’s what they [New York State] won’t let us do,” Wade responded.
The section along Main Street near the Orpheum Theater and the Inquiring Mind bookstore is some of the worst, Murphy said. Sections of Partition Street sidewalks are too narrow to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, “which I think were written in Kansas,” Wade joked.
Murphy said he wanted to convince the DOT “to shrink it, make it fit the budget, and do what we can.”
Is it even legal to accept a bid from a sole bidder? Some municipalities have procurement policies prohibiting that.
you must be new to the area?
Mr Wade should be thanking his lucky stars he does not need ADA compliant spaces. What a ridiculous ‘joke’.
I would have the agree with you. A very insensitive remark to make.
Have MULLEN do the curbing and the village DOT do the sidewalk stones.
The village DOT is perfectly capable of resetting the sidewalk bluestone as we saw when they reset the stone on John Street earlier this year.
And let’s be clear-the replaced bluestone shall be Ulster County bluestone and not that junk from PA.
BTW-some of the most eroded bluestone sidewalk and curbing is behind the photographer, in front of the Orpheum.
………. – as well as pouring new curbs,” said Wade.
Excuse me-our present curbs are BLUESTONE……….
“The village could consider tinted, stamped concrete as an alternative. ”
The stamped and stained concrete experiments on Partition and Main clearly show that the stain does not last for a year nor does using such an imitation “replace in-kind”.
Ulster County had the BEST bluestone available-why are we even thinking of replacing bluestone with inferior bluestone or concrete ?
Re-apply for the proper grant and have the village DOT the eroded sidewalk stones !
I’m a bit confused. The tinted material refers to the curbing and not the sidewalk slabs… right?
There are recommendations and printed guidelines for replacing historic materials published by the department of the interior. And the law requires certificate of appropriateness for any material used in the historic district that is not used for an in kind replacement. Is any of this research in the findings that are needed to back up the bid?
This was just done in Woodstock this summer. Who was the contractor for that?
Have you looked at the gutter system on the front of the buildind,it pours right onto the sidewalks,
Maybe it will dissolve the village municipality along with it? Both are all wet anyways?
Tinted concrete: https://www.facebook.com/ILSaugerties/photos/a.1740698222675039/1740698379341690/?type=3&theater
January 2016 article on our bluestone sidewalk repair.
https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2016/01/18/saugerties-will-replace-village-sidewalks-near-partitionmain-intersection/
All the sidewalks requiring repair, replacement and rejuvenation on Route 299 (i.e. Main Street, New Paltz) was just completed over a three month period this last summer. And what a fine job it is. State taxpayers picked up the entire cost of the bill, for both the Village and the Town sections of the road. Thank you, and see you again next time.