Engraved Brick Locations Revealed!

With the engraved bricks in our first wave order on site (They arrived from the Brick Markers facility on Tuesday November 28th 2006), the MSP design team has selected the key areas where most of the engraved bricks will be placed.

The selected areas are around the bank, in front of the Napa auto parts store, and by the Rongovian Embassy to the USA. This is not to say that bricks will be exclusive to those arches, just primarily concentrated in the aforementioned areas. As more brick orders come in and, hopeful, future phases of construction extend sidewalks throughout the Village, bricks can go into other areas.

Economy Paving and brick-laying subcontractor Syrstone will place bricks in the incomplete arch by the Rongovian Embassy to the USA. If the weather permits, then Economy might also instruct Syrstone to begin swapping out the blank bricks in the other selected arches for engraved bricks.

Last Meetings

The MSP's last Morning on Main Street meeting will be on Tuesday December 5th 2006 at 8am on the Village Office Porch. The MSP thanks all the citizens that came to the meetings during the summer and to Gimme! Coffee, Trumansburg Shursave, and Word of Mouth Catering for sponsoring some of the meetings with donations of coffee and doughnuts.

Please note that while the Morning on Main Street meetings are ending, that the MSP makes no plans to shut down the primary communication pathways. You can always turn to this blog, check out our website, call our number (607-387-4471) and/or give us an e-mail at tburgmainst@fltg.net.

Things to Come

Economy Paving plans (weather permitting) to continue adding some of the finishing touches along Main Street this week. The wooden stepping blocks you can see outside of New York Pizzerria and other businesses will be replaced with permanent stone steps. The heavy-duty driveway pavers have also arrived and will go in the incomplete brick arch by the Ronogovian Embassy to the USA. It now appears certain that at least some of the engraved bricks in the first wave order (due to arrive on Tuesday November 28th) will be featured in the arch.

Striping Today

Crews from street striping subcontractor Hi-Lite are on site today laying down some of the guide lines for the new crosswalks and parking spaces on Main Street. Hi-Lite teams first make some quick spray paint lines where the actual lines will go before applying the final coat of paint. Crews will continue until they are complete with their set-up.

First Snowfall

As today marked the first significatn snowfall in Trumansburg this winter, the MSP would like to address the issue of de-icing the new sidewalks.

Economy Paving used a "cure and seal" method on all the new concrete sidewalks within the Vilage core and and along the far end of East Main Street. This method cannot protect the sidewalks from the weathering effects of such de-icers as magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride. These products (often marketed as alternatives to rock salt) make the new concrete much more susceptible to chipping and weathering.

While the Village Department of Public Works does plow sidewalks within the Village, it is still the property/business owner's responsibility to clear his/her immediate sidewalks of ice and snow. The MSP asks all residents/owners on Main Street to abstain from other de-icers and exclusively use rock salt (in moderation) for this winter. The "cure and seal" process can protect the sidewalks from a moderate application of rock salt.

Please note that the MSP is only asking residents to use rock salt. Neither the MSP nor the Village can force any resident to use any specific de-icer. The decision lies ultimately with the property owner and the merely MSP hopes that everyone will come together to protect the recent investments. Neither the Villager or MSP can penalize anyone for using something else than a moderate layer of rock salt. Please also note that the MSP is only asking this of residents for the sidewalks' first winter. By this time next year the sidewalks should be set enough that individuals can use any product they wish.

Look for a full announcement in next week's Main Street Report in the Free Press or just contact the MSP office for more details.

Bricks Away!

The bricks in our first wave brick order (i.e. every brick inscription provided between 2002 and July 2006) have just left the Brick Markers facility in Florida! The MSP will track the progress of the brick shipment as it moves up towards Trumansburg.

Once in the Village, the bricks will be stored at the Village DPW site on Corey Street until they can be installed next summer. However, with an expected arrival date of November 27th 2006, there is a possiblity that some of the engraved bricks will be featured in the empty brick arch in front of the Rongovian Embassy to the U.S.A. That arch was left empty because part of it borders a mountable curb designed to hold delivery trucks. The bricks for that section of the arch are reinforced ones designed for the extra weight of a car/truck. However, since only part of the arch is meant to act as a car mount, engraved bricks can go there.

Any updates will be posted on this blog.

MSP Office Hours for Thanksgiving Week

With all the hustle of the holiday season just about to formally start next week, here are the MSP office hours for the week of Nov. 20th, 2006 to Nov. 24th 2006.

Monday Nov. 20th: 1:30pm-7pm
Tuesday Nov. 21st: 7am-12noon
Friday Nov. 24th: 7am-12noon, 1pm-5pm

If you come to visit the MSP office and the Village Office building is closed then take a left at the MSP Octagon on the porch and fide the side/handicap entrance. That door will be unlocked while an MSP representative is in the office. Thanks!

***Please note that this post, originally posted on Friday November 17th, was changed on Sunday November 19th to reflect a change in the main MSP office staffers' schedules. The office will still be open for the same total amount of hours just on different days***

Brick Gift Certificates

Interest in engraved brick sales has increased and the MSP wants to remind everyone to please get their brick orders into the Village Office by December 31st 2006!

Not only can one buy a brick, but you can also buy a brick gift certificate for someone else. In order to get a gift certificate you pay the MSP just like you would for any amount of bricks ($35 each or 3 for $100) and the MSP gives you the appropaite amount of gift certificates. You are then free to give those out as you please. The lucky receivers of a gift certificate can then bring it to the office with an order form to enter their brick. If you can't think of anything to get for your favorite Trumansburg resident this holiday season then get them a gift certificate so they can leave their mark on Main Street.

Please contact the MSP Office for more info on bricks and gift certificates.

More FAQ

Construction might be almost complete, but the FAQ continues to update! Here are the latest posts.

What is a scoring line?
A scoring line is the line in a sidewalk that divides it into sections. When you walk down a sidewalk and walk past the line that cuts it into two rectanles then you have just walked by a scoring line.

What is the problem with the scoring lines on the project?
It appears that, unfortunately, some of the scoring lines/patterns on the project were improperely installed. To the un-trained eye, there appears to be no problem with the sidewalks. However, to those familiar with construction and with the plans in hand there is a problem as some of the scoring patterns are off and do not provide the intended look for Main Street.

Where are these scoring line problems?
The project engineers and contractors must still formally walk to site and mark out the affected areas. MSP advisory committee members have pointed out scoring line issues by the bank plaza, in front of the Village Hall, and on the north side of the bridge.

Is it safe to walk on the sidewalks?
YES! The scoring line problems are purely aesthetic and do not affect the safety/integrity of the new sidewalks.

How will these problems be fixed?
No formal timetable/solution has been created as of yet. The engineers and contractors will walk the site and mark out where the lines are supposed to be. This will then allow them, the Village, and the MSP to compare how far off the existing scoring lines are to the proposed ones. Economy has promised to fix any sidewalks that the MSP/Village wants fixed, but believes it might have to wait till next spring/summer.

A Lone Worker

Economy Paving superintendent Terrence Rearden could be seen on Main Street today fixing some of the installed light post footers. Plans required that all light pole bases must poke 2 inches above the sidewalk/ground surface. Mr. Rearden is correcting those that are too low by adding a layer of heavy-duty grout. This work is part of the final touch-up/corrections mentioned in current MSP communications.

Back in town, back on site

Thanks to all the readers of the MSP blog for their patience during it's hiatus this past weekend (Nov.9th-13th).

Today, Tuesday November 14th 2006, representatives from the Village, MSP, Economy Paving and C & S Engineers will meet to address the final completion issues about the project. This marks the beginning of the formal punch card phase and will also address some of the corrections needed in the scoring lines on the new sidewalks. For more information about the construction corrections you can check out last week's (Nov 8th 2006) edition of the Trumanburg Free Press or contact the MSP office. Thanks!

Low-Content Mode

Posts on the Main Street Project blog may be scarce between Wednesday November 8th 2006 and Tuesday November 14th as the main poster is out of town. However, other MSP representatives can access the blog and might post during the aforementioned hiatus. During the hiatus any concerns about Main Street construction and/or the MSP should be sent directly to the Village Office (387-6501). The MSP office will also be formally un-staffed during this hiatus, but, since the voicemail can be remotely accessed, the phone line does remain open. Thanks for your patience!

Getting Ready For Winter

Crews from Economy Paving can be seen today (Tuesday November 7th 2006) laying down straw mulch over the exposed tree lawns between the curb and sidewalk. Since grass seeding will not happen till the spring, the mulch will protect the tree lawns from erosion and weathering. Crews will place a layer of straw mulch over the soil and then pack it down with the use of a small steam-roller.

Stone Seating

The Alcove Quarry in Alcove, NY delivered some of the seating stones today that will go along Main Street. You can see some of these stones already on Main Street by the bank and the final brick patch in front of The Rongovian Embassy to the USA. Now that the stone seats have been installed in the aforementioned brick patch, crews from Syrstone can return to finish up that remaining brick arch. Stone laying teams have also continue to place bluestone tablets in certain locations around Trumansburg. This morning a chalk-coffee cup was seen on the stone in front of Gimme! Coffee and similar stones can be found in front of Little Venice, Trumansburg Liquor, and Word of Mouth Catering, to name a few.

More Repaving

Crews from Economy Paving continue to finalize and normalize locations along Main Street. In this post you will find some pictures showing the repaving of the last driveway in the Big M/Movie Gallery/Family Dollar parking lot. The sidewalk over this remaining driveway was poured yesterday (Wednesday November 1st) and since it has hardened crews could pour the blacktop around it. This represents the completion of all driveways leading into the aforementioned block of stores and will hopefully alleviate all customer/communter concerns about accessability to these key Trumansburg businesses. By the time you have read this post, these repaving crews would have completed the aforementioned driveway and gone to other locations. Around 12:30pm on Thursday Novembr 2nd 2006, these crews were by the Village Office.

More Bricks Coming In

Brick laying crews have pushed further towards completion. At the time of this blog post's creation, the aforementioned crews were just beginning work on the brick arches in front of Trumansburg Liquors and Simply Red.

Economy Paving teams also continue to fill in areas of tree lawn with soil. The loader was in front of the Village Office building this morning (also at the time of this blog post's creation) filling in the future tree lawn on the southside of East Main Street.

A & K remains on site to pour wheelchair ramps along the entire length of Main Street with the special textured/colored concrete required for these areas.

Driveway Completions

Crews from concrete subcontractor A & K Slipform are still on site and continue to pour concrete. Teams began to pour some of the wheelchair ramps on Main Street today, which had to wait till last because of the texturing/details on each of the ramps. Crews poured one such ramp at the brick arch near the Ronogovian Embassy to the USA. Tomorrow, brick layers can place bricks around this ramp and finish up that arch. That will mean the end of all work on the southside of West Main Street.

Crews also poured the remaining sections of driveway needed by Dragon Village and Colonial Laundromat.

Economy Paving has begun its final work by having its crews fill in areas of future tree lawn with soil/gravel. These areas (the areas between the curb and sidewalk) will be planted with new landscaping come spring.