While some students at Ohio University seem to not give the brick-layered roads a second thought until tripping over them, many can forget that the quaint Athens streets do not maintain themselves.
Occasionally, the bricks undergo a thorough cleaning process. Over the course of about a day, traffic is rerouted while patches of bricks ranging from 10-by-10 to 20-by-20 feet are removed by hand, washed and replaced.
The upkeep process began this past Tuesday when bricks comprising East Union Street and part of Park Place were pretreated for the upcoming larger scale summer rehabilitation efforts.
With the help of a contractor, the end goal this year is to stabilize the soil underneath the bricks by resurfacing it with pavement as necessary, said Andy Stone, Athens street department director.
For the past five years, these patches of road have been split into two categories of ratings based on current level of decay. Those still in relatively proper shape go through a series of minor maintenances, while those in worse condition may be paved over outright with concrete.
We'll probably have 10 guys working five weeks to get the job done
Stone said.
Ten streets of Athens' 11 miles of brick roads are protected as part of a 1990 city resolution. Still, there are 18 more that the Athens Street Department is trying to maintain.
Of course, none of this is cheap. The city spends approximately $35,000 in labor expenses for three full-time city workers and seven seasonal college students. They are employed as sunk cost, paid regardless of the specific job.
Coupled with the roughly $5,000 cost for construction and fuel, the rehabilitation of East Union and Park Place runs in excess of $40,000.
The majority of the bricks were put into place originally about 100 years ago, mostly by residents that were required to give two days a year of community work to the then village of Athens, Stone said.
He added that it is important to keep the brick unless we have a compelling reason not to. 17
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