Living in northwest Randall and wondering what specifically is going to happen to the town road in front of your property when street rehab work in that area begins soon?
This series of maps supplied by town engineering firm Ruekert-Mielke shows exactly what works is going to be done where for the project from ditching to paving to tree canopy trimming and removal.
Speaking of tree trimming, the amount of it done along 93rd Street as an earlier part of this project was a topic of some discussion at last Thursday’s Randall Town Board meeting. That prompted me to ask town engineer Ken Ward why tree overhang is not good for roads. Here was his response:
There are two primary reasons: 1) The tree canopy doesn’t allow the roadway to dry out. Moisture penetrates the roadway and aggregate base below it which weakens it. When a large load (garbage truck, delivery truck) goes over the weakened road multiple times over the years, the road cracks and breaks up 2) Some tree sap doesn’t mix well with the asphalt and causes small deterioration of the surface. In winter these deteriorations hold water, freeze and cause the surface to fail. The more failures the greater chance of number 1 above to occur Both of the above items occur over several years. By cutting back the tree canopy we can lengthen the life span of the roadway and reduce maintenance and replacement costs.