Not just another brick in the road

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/08/2010 (5811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly three decades after it was installed, an experimental stretch of roadway in the North End continues to draw curious sta­res from motorists and pedestrians alike.

The city installed interlocking brick on Magnus Avenue between Salter and Main streets in 1982 to determine its suitability as a replacement for cement.

Civic officials eventually deemed the experiment unsuccessful but the brick roadway remains in place to this day.

“We discovered that for upkeep, the product wasn’t very good, especially for major upgrades or snow removal,” said city spokesperson Tammy Melesko.

Melesko said the city uses interlocking brick sparingly now and only for aesthetic purposes.

“The only time we do brick work on roads these days are on things such as roundabouts or traffic circles such as along Waterfront Drive,” she said.

While many residents of the street enjoy the look of the interlocking brick, they are disappointed the city hasn’t done more to maintain it.

One longtime Magnus resident said holes in the roadwork have become a real problem in the last five years.

Another Magnus resident said the elements aren’t the only thing that have contributed to the road’s deterioration.

“I’ve seen a few kids take them up out of the ground. They then get thrown through a few front windows of houses in the neighbourhood,” said the resident, who moved onto the street five years ago and was surprised to discover the unusual road surface.

Rod Hamilton, an asset manager engineer in city’s public works department, said it’s not unusual for the city to experiment with different types of road surfaces.

Last year, a three lane 700-metre stretch of Portage Avenue west of Cavalier Drive was resurfaced using a mixture of recycled tire and rubberized asphalt. Hamilton said early results of the Portage experiment have been encouraging.

“The Portage rubber crumb is looking good and the material is (holding up) well,” he said.

Hamilton said the city is currently considering using a new material that incorporates recycled shingles. A date for the project has yet to be determined.

“Using recycled shingles would result in less asphalt being used in city roads,” he said.

rob.brown@canstarnews.com