The in basket: Mitch Hailey of Bremerton e-mailed two weeks ago to protest the condition of Central Valley Road, including with his message several photographs of ruts and pot holes left by a sewer excavation between Alexis Drive and Holland Road.
“While riding my motorcycle on this road and with no warning, I found myself having to dodge one danger after another and coming very close to dumping my bike,” Mitch said.
“Having just survived a crash where an irresponsible dog owner allowed their pet to play in the roadway unrestrained, I am very sensitive to preventable dangers placing others at risk. Someone needs to be providing oversight of these construction projects for safety’s sake.”
The out basket: Jacques Dean, Kitsap County’s project manager and the overseer of this county project by Buno Construction, said he sent the contractor copies of Mitch’s photos and ordered that more attention be paid the condition of the road after each day’s work.
The workers are to make a daily patch of the road they disturb that day, Jacques said, but weren’t taking enough time raking out the hot asphalt mix before it was rolled. Rain and traffic produced the conditions in Mitch’s photos.
The work the day after Mitch wrote was a lot better, Jacques said.
Since then, two readers have disagreed.
On Oct.27, Sheldon Cherrey wrote, “Well, I traveled that road last night. The road is worse than the
last time I drove it. Possibly due to the rain “
And Louis Oliver wrote Saturday to say he found “that a forest service road that has not seen a grader in over two years would be the smoother of the two. If it is the county that is doing the repairs after the pipe is replaced, the job should be out-sourced. If a contractor is doing the job, they should be fined and replaced. Then I wonder who should pay for my dental work? Yes, it is that bad.”
Tina Nelson of the county, filling in for Jacques, who was away from work last week, had this to say about the latest complaints:
“Last week the contractor was directed to spend more time (and money …) on maintaining the patch. I drove it yesterday, and I thought it was an acceptable patch at the time.
“The catch is that the patch is only temporary,” she said. “The same trench needs to be dug up again to install the new force main, starting the second week of November, over the gravity sewer that has already been installed. It is our intent to keep the patch safe, but at the same time be cost conscious.
“If travelers go slow, allow the extra few minutes, or use an alternate route, we will not be forced to spend additional precious dollars on a temporary patch.
“Patience,” she urged. The final product, when the sewer installation is complete, will be like a brand new road surface. Permanent restoration in Central Valley Road is currently scheduled to start in mid-December, which includes final asphalt paving. Asphalt paving, of course, is weather dependent.”
