Stickmaker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stickmaker) wrote2006-06-14 09:41 am
stickmaker) wrote2006-06-14 09:41 am
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Your Tax Dollars At Work
Some of you already know I work for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Some of you have heard or read me complain about our new building. Here's an update.
Recently, the sidewalk corner we call the Bullseye (concentric circles or partial circles of concrete and pavement brick) has seen some construction. Workers took up a large section of the brick paving and removed the sand underneath. Then, without hearing protection or dust remediation (yes, the workplace safety and environmental folks are _in this building_) they proceeded to saw an elaborate pattern of lines in the concrete underneath. A jackhammer (still no hearing protection for the workers) was then used to cut out a series of intersecting trenches in the concrete. The dirt underneath was dug out with a backhoe.
No-one here seems to know what this is for. There was originally supposed to be a statue there, which was dropped due to funding problems, and some folks are guessing this is for that, two years later. Only, none of the work seems to have anything to do with putting a statue in. And none of the work is where the statue is actually supposed to go, in the center of the Bullseye.
They could have simply taken out the whole chunk of slab where they're working and poured a replacement after they finish whatever they're doing, for less time and money than they spent on all that sawing and jackhammering to just take out part of it. They saved the paving bricks, carefully stacked on pallets, so presumably they're going to put them back down. This isn't spot repair of bad concrete, either. It didn't look damaged before they started cutting, and the cuts are regular and symmetrical. Also, see above about cost.
Whatever they're doing, I've taken photos and may post some after the film is processed.
Recently, the sidewalk corner we call the Bullseye (concentric circles or partial circles of concrete and pavement brick) has seen some construction. Workers took up a large section of the brick paving and removed the sand underneath. Then, without hearing protection or dust remediation (yes, the workplace safety and environmental folks are _in this building_) they proceeded to saw an elaborate pattern of lines in the concrete underneath. A jackhammer (still no hearing protection for the workers) was then used to cut out a series of intersecting trenches in the concrete. The dirt underneath was dug out with a backhoe.
No-one here seems to know what this is for. There was originally supposed to be a statue there, which was dropped due to funding problems, and some folks are guessing this is for that, two years later. Only, none of the work seems to have anything to do with putting a statue in. And none of the work is where the statue is actually supposed to go, in the center of the Bullseye.
They could have simply taken out the whole chunk of slab where they're working and poured a replacement after they finish whatever they're doing, for less time and money than they spent on all that sawing and jackhammering to just take out part of it. They saved the paving bricks, carefully stacked on pallets, so presumably they're going to put them back down. This isn't spot repair of bad concrete, either. It didn't look damaged before they started cutting, and the cuts are regular and symmetrical. Also, see above about cost.
Whatever they're doing, I've taken photos and may post some after the film is processed.
Your tax dollars at work..
(Anonymous) 2006-06-15 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Your tax dollars at work..