Infrastructure notebook: 3rd Street sidewalk fencing slated for repair, material backordered

At this past Tuesday’s board of public works meeting (July 1), the months-long closure of the sidewalk on the north side of 3rd Street running from Walnut Street up to the B-Line Trail got some airtime from Bloomington public works director Adam Wason.

The sidewalk is closed due to the structural failure of the railing that prevents pedestrians from falling into the street from a height of around 15 feet.

On Tuesday, Wason told the three-member board, “We are doing everything we can possibly do to try to get that sidewalk open.” Wason continued, saying that the contractor has ordered the materials, but they have been backordered.

Approved by the board at its April 22 meeting, the $17,500 contract with Specialties Company, LLC to repair the railing calls for 20 vertical posts to be replaced and the existing fence panels to be reused.

On Tuesday, Wason told the board, “We’ve been following up every week—that’s still not been delivered.”

Wason was responding to remarks given at the public mic towards the start of Tueday's meeting by Bloomington resident Greg Alexander. He called for the city’s engineering department to require the adjoining property owner—which is another governmental entity, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC)—to get the repair completed, so that the sidewalk can be opened. Alexander also spoke at the board's April 8 meeting, drawing attention to the need to get the sidewalk reopened for pedestrians.

Based on Google Street View images, the existing guardrail fencing along 3rd Street has been in place at least since 2007. The vertical posts are in some places rusted at their bases, and they have been reinforced with round pipes, bolted to the surface of the concrete.

But generally, the guard railing along the north side of the street feels flimsy to the touch. On the south side of the street, a similar guard railing feels solid for most of the stretch, but towards the B-Line Trail there are a couple of vertical posts with clearly visible rust at the base, and they have been reinforced with round pipes. The scope of the contracted work with Specialties Company looks like it is just for the north side of the street.

Pedestrians navigating in the general area of 3rd Street between Walnut Street and College Avenue in the next several months are not supposed to have to cross to the opposite side of the street, because of construction work that will expand the Bloomington Convention Center. Based on the plans that the board of public works previously approved, pedestrians will have walkways in the street adjoining the construction site, protected with with traffic barriers.

But pedestrians who are looking to continue along the north side of 3rd Street westward across Walnut Street towards the B-Line Trail, will have to cross to the south side of the street.