City workers’ error
is driving them crazy

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Thomas Watson has given new meaning to the term, "hitting rock bottom."
Things have been that way for him for the last five months or so, but it’s not because Watson is depressed or has substance abuse problems.
On the contrary, every time Watson, his wife Kathleen, or about a dozen of their neighbors try to pull into their own driveways, they literally hit rock bottom thanks to a less-than-precise water main and paving job done by the city on their street.
Some neighbors on the 4100 and 4200 blocks of Fairdale Road use their driveways, anyway, scraping the underbelly of their vehicles just about every time they come and go.
Others, like the Watsons, don’t even try because they know their Buick will never make it.
The problem, they say, is that the street and curb are far lower than they used to be, yet the sidewalks in front of their homes are the same as they’ve been for the last 45 years.
As a result, many residents must navigate a steep driveway "apron" as they enter their driveways. In Watson’s case, the sidewalk is about 10 inches above the edge of the street. The ramp at the end of his driveway is less than 3 feet wide.
With just over 7 inches clearance on the nose of his car and about the same at the back, he can’t make it. His bumper and muffler literally collide with the side of the apron slope.
"It was probably around New Year’s that they tore up the street and I couldn’t get into my driveway," Tom Watson said. "And I still can’t."
Work, he explained, began on his street in the fall of 2005 when a contractor scraped up the asphalt and raised the manholes as part of an apparent repaving job.
"Then they stopped," Watson said.
He later found out that the folks in City Hall then realized that the street’s water mains were failing. They decided to put the paving on hold until the new pipes were done.
The street remained unpaved for months until neighbors received a Philadelphia Water Department notice dated Aug. 25, 2006, alerting them to a planned 10-month project featuring "heavy construction."
Though the project finished two months ahead of schedule, life was not pleasant for neighbors while it was happening.
A contractor excavated deep into the street section-by-section to remove the old mains and install the new. Then they regraded the street bed.
"We called it Downtown Beirut," Kathleen Watson said. "In fact, Beirut looked better. We got dirt in the house everywhere. You could dust and, one hour later, write your name on the dining room table."
When work was going on in front of a particular group of home, residents were forced to find parking up the street somewhere. That proved quite inconvenient when returning from the supermarket with bags of groceries, Kathleen Watson explained. Also, it posed a major problem for less-mobile older folks and for families with young children.
Tom Watson parked his car near Knights Road for a while. One night, somebody punched a hole in his tire.
"When the businesses close, it’s desolate up there," he said.
"The woman at the end of the block, they broke into her car and really did a number," Kathleen Watson said.
The bigger headaches were still to come.
"Because of the extensive excavation they had done, they may have damaged the curb," Tom Watson said. "They decided they were going to replace the curb from Knights Road all the way down (Fairdale Road), and the aprons, too."
Problem was, workers left the street bed lower than it was before. So, when they set the new curbs, they were lower, too. Eventually, the pavers came and laid new asphalt. That also is lower than is used to be.
Looking at the street today, the center section is much higher than the outer section. Tom Watson believes that this crown effect is a result of prior repaving jobs.
In the past, he said, the scrapers would only remove asphalt from the outer sections, while leaving the center essentially in tact. Then the pavers would come along and put a new layer over everything, essentially raising the center of the street.
Faulty grading on the latest project, he believes, has compounded the problem.
The Water Department was the lead agency on the project, but the Streets Department was in charge of the repaving.
When contacted by the Northeast Times, spokeswomen for both departments acknowledged that something went wrong, but neither said where the problem occurred.
Laura Copeland, the Water Department spokeswoman, said that the Streets Department must act first to fix the problem.
"(Our contractor) indicated that the street does need to be repaired in order for any curb work to have any impact on the problem," Copeland said. "Whenever (street work) happens, we’re ready to go in."
Keisha McCarty-Skelton of the Streets Department said that her agency is planning to re-mill and repave the street to eliminate the crown and "make it even."
However, the questions of time and money are unresolved.
"We’re looking to make sure of the funding in the capital program," she said.
Her department hopes to do it "this year."
"I don’t have an exact date," McCarty-Skelton added.
What bothers Tom Watson most about the situation is that he says he warned job officials several times along the way that things were going wrong.
When they set the concrete for the curbs, he approached a job inspector.
"I saw right away the curb was lower. He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll fix it,’" Watson recalled. "I knew right away I wouldn’t get in there."
Information on the city’s plans has been tough to come by for neighbors, he added.
"It’s been difficult to get people out here to explain what they’re going to do and how they’re going to do it," Watson said. "We want to get it fixed as soon as possible. It’s been too long." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com