Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

General Category => Hackensack Discussion => Topic started by: BLeafe on August 20, 2009, 01:14:43 PM

Title: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 20, 2009, 01:14:43 PM
I'm not sure exactly what happened there yesterday between Union and Main Streets, but there was some sort of road cave-in. I could see the bright lights and hear an occasional rumble as repair work went on through the night.

As you can see in the third picture below, it's a pretty large opening that appears to be shored up now so the problem can be fixed.

The road's still closed and work continues. If anyone knows exactly what happened, please post.

Below:

1. View to the west

2. View to the east

3. City officials at the scene



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 20, 2009, 02:19:15 PM
The original story I got was that a sewer pipe broke, causing the cave-in...........but then two other people said something different (water pipe, sink hole).

I just went back there and smelled the correct answer, thanks to the sewer truck's activities in the first photo.

On a personal note, the other one - straight down (close enough for you?) - is the 2,500th photo taken with my cell. What a festive shot. ::)



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 20, 2009, 11:00:06 PM
I'll go to any lengths to get the story (as long as it's within a block of my apartment).

I could see big replacement pipes and bright lights from my living room window, so I took a walk over there to see if the cell would perform well at night (it usually doesn't). The lights did the trick.

I snapped away from both sides of the street. The sewer-sucker truck was now in the middle of Main and Anderson and too dark to shoot. I had thought there was only one opening in the street, but I think there are at least 3.

I asked a worker how big the replacement pipes are. "60 inches - same as the busted one". I then asked how old the busted one was. "It was made of brick - GOTTA be at least a hundred years old...........same as me".

He looked about 25. I asked him, "How do you think that makes ME feel?"

He laughed.

And, except for the third picture, the cell passed the test.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 21, 2009, 05:39:50 PM
Today, I spoke with a cop at the scene who said the replacement pipe would be about 75' long. I thought maybe it would run the length of Anderson between Union and Main.

He said no replacement was in the ground yet. I told him I saw replacement pipes last night that aren't there now, so they must have been installed.

"No - those are now at Johnson Park".

I guess there's a staging area over there now.

He took me over to one of the street openings. If you look at the below picture closely, you can see the busted brick pipe and some of its unpleasant contents.

I asked when he thought the work would be completed. He said they weren't going to be working over the weekend, so it might be next Wednesday or Thursday.

They've just used four large metal tubes to connect two massive rectangular metal plates. The new piece was lifted, swung around, and lowered into one of the street openings...........I'm guessing to brace the walls.

Those are some historic bricks down there, but I doubt you'd want one in your home.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on August 21, 2009, 10:35:53 PM
It's hard for me to believe that brick lasted as long as it did.  How do you lay bricks like that?  That must have been an arduous, pain staking process.  I'm sure it's all over the city.  

Fascinating.  Really.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 22, 2009, 02:02:49 PM
I wonder how old that brick pipe REALLY is. Anyone got a clue?

I guess the OT situation loosened up - they're working today (Saturday).



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 22, 2009, 04:11:32 PM
Looking at the photos, that type of brick arch construction dates back to the late 1800's.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 23, 2009, 10:31:52 PM
Well, that makes this pipe significantly older than 100 years.

Although the following isn't about Hackensack, it shows the existence of local 60" brick sewer pipes in the early 1850s.

from: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nj/state/EssexNewarkSewer.htm

Work began on the Newark’s first sewer in 1852 and was completed in 1854. Built under Broad Street, the sewer ran east under Park Place and Rector Street before emptying into the Passaic River. This circular brick conduit, which still serves the city today, is five feet in diameter, 1305 feet long and 23 feet below ground.


The only thing I found relating to Hackensack (below) was from 1908.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 24, 2009, 11:10:35 PM
The majority of today was spent pile-driving huge steel beams into the walls of a street opening.

In the first picture (taken from my apartment), you can see the crane lifting up a beam. When a beam was upright in the hole, the green apparatus at  the end of the crane's line attached to the beam and jack-hammered the beam into the ground (second picture). You can see a small dirt cloud.

This was extremely loud. I hope it doesn't go on all night. I know it's necessary, but so is sleep.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 26, 2009, 02:22:26 PM
I was incorrect about the "steel beams". They may have looked like beams from a distance, but as you can see in the first two photos below, they're rather thin and interlocking - they remind me a bit of highway sound barriers. You can see some of the new concrete pipe in-ground at the top of the second photo.

The third photo shows more new 60" pipe sections awaiting installation.

I'm still trying to get more shots of the old brick pipe, but I keep showing up at the wrong time. Yesterday, it was too flooded to see in the section they were working in and today that section was already replaced.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 26, 2009, 03:06:41 PM
The "steel beams" are called sheet piles.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 26, 2009, 03:45:00 PM
........sheet piles.

Thanks for the good info, Homer, but did you also just hand me a straight line setup regarding pipe content?  ;)




(must resist..................)



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 26, 2009, 04:34:51 PM
Let me sit on that for a while. I have some pressing business to get out of the way.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 26, 2009, 06:47:58 PM
Even if you passed a brick, I've got you beat...........sorta.


The workers had told me to come back late afternoon, so I went over there about 5:15. Since they're all very busy, you can only talk to whoever's nearby.

This turned out to be a friendly gentleman for whom English is a bit difficult. After some fruitless back-and-forth about whether the brick pipe was still in the ground and visible, he motioned me to wait a minute.

He walked behind a large apparatus - I thought he was getting the foreman - and came back with a couple of bricks! I wasn't sure I wanted to accept them right away, so I smiled and motioned for him to put them down on the grass.

Then I found someone in charge talking to a cop. He let me interrupt and told me they were having lots of problems, so he couldn't pinpoint a time that would be good to come back. I kind of figured it would be hit-or-miss and was resigned to having the above picture of the brick pipe from 5 days ago being my only one.

The cop, BTW, said he was told by the DPW that the pipes were 120 years old, which ties in nicely with Homer's "late 1800s" statement above. So, absent any better information, I think we can safely say that this 60" brick pipe was probably installed under Anderson St in the late 1880s.

Now - what to do about the "gift" bricks..................

Against my better judgment, I gingerly picked them up with 3 fingertips and brought them across the Second Reformed Church's parking lot to the back of my building across the street. There, I found two Capri Sun cardboard boxes that were larger than a brick and transported them upstairs in the boxes.

I photographed them first as they were, blasted them with hot water, drowned them in Lysol, and shot them again.

They're now up to $346.00 on eBay.  ;)



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 26, 2009, 07:09:19 PM
Too bad that you washed the bricks. You were lucky enough to have held two original WHITE MANNA sliders.

[Topic continues here (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php?topic=1149.15)]
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 26, 2009, 07:31:11 PM
Then I guess YOU won't be bidding........


If you want, I can probably still get you one with all the toppings for a phenomenal nominal fee. :-X



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 26, 2009, 08:54:12 PM
Maybe we should terminate this discussion. As they say in the sheet piling / brick  sewer rebuilding business -- we don't want the editor to sheet a brick. He yelled at us once about making spectacles of ourselves.

We can always start up again when someone brings up sheetrock.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on August 27, 2009, 11:17:18 AM
We got a potty training book for our 2 year old daughter.  On the inside cover appears the following quote which I thought applies nicely to this topic too:

"Everything flows"

- Heraclitis
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 27, 2009, 11:51:09 AM

" Except when the pipe is busted"

- Homer Jones
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 27, 2009, 03:00:20 PM
"Everything flows"

"Except when the pipe is busted"



Sorry, Homer. EVEN though the pipe is busted, water was FLOWing today (see photos).

SO.........I think that Pearl Jam's "Even Flow" is most appropriate.


BTW - I asked a worker when he thinks they'll be done. He really didn't know, but acknowledged that it could be next week.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 27, 2009, 04:37:35 PM
 EVEN FLOW !?!?!?!?

Your photos remind me more of OH CALCUTTA
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 28, 2009, 05:03:21 PM
You DO know that "Oh! Calcutta!" was the first nudie musical, right?

The title was not a reference to an Indian city, but rather to a phonetic play on the French phrase "O quel cul t'as!" which means "What an a$$ you have!"

I'll pass on your appreciative words to the crew.  :laugh:



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 28, 2009, 05:47:44 PM
Yes, I know the full story including the punctuation and the translation. Didn't think that many of the message board contributors would remember a 40 year old "theatrical production".
That being the case just take the word 'oh" from my previous posting and you / they will catch my drift. As for the workers, they will catch the drift as it flows eastward over their ankles.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 31, 2009, 04:20:21 PM
I wonder why there hasn't been so much as a peep about any of this in The Record or The Chronicle. This is weeks-long major roadwork and detour on a road that's not exactly a side street.

There are possible historical interest angles - could the 120-140 year-old bricks used in the construction of the broken pipe have been made at one of the numerous brickyards in Little Ferry that existed at the time?

How has this affected places like Holman Moving Systems, whose huge trucks can barely get into their Anderson St entrance on a good day, or their neighbor across the street - the Second Reformed Church - whose parking lot entrance is directly opposite Holman's?

So I asked both, "How's business?"

I REALLY thought Holman's would be greatly impacted, but, apparently they're able to squeeze their trucks in most of the time with some cooperative juggling by the road crew. Since that's not always possible, the occasional truck will sit in a nearby street or park lot, if necessary.

The Second Reformed Church got on the phones and called every one of their members to inform them that it would be services-as-usual and that they could approach the lot from Ward St. Apparently, it worked because there was no noticeable drop-off in attendance.


These are stories that local citizens would be interested in reading about in their paper. How many read about it here?

People are asking me why there's been NOTHING about this in any of our papers. In the absence of a real reporter who could get the word out to thousands of people about the day-to-day operations, I'm happy to relay anything I happen to find out, but I'm no reporter and shouldn't be the sole source of info.

If for no other reason than to provide day-to-day detour notices, I think The Record owes the people of Hackensack and anyone else inconvenienced by this work some real coverage and information.

Why aren't they getting it?


WHERE IS THE RECORD?

WHERE IS THE CHRONICLE?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: averagejoe on August 31, 2009, 07:25:07 PM
sorry friend,if therses not a whiff of scandal or controversy neither the record nor its neglected step- daughter ,the chronicle ,cares
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on August 31, 2009, 10:04:44 PM
Regarding the bricks, they probably came from the Hackensack Brick Company or one of the other brick producers along the River in Hackensack and Little Ferry. Don't forget that about 130 years ago the contractor or supplier couldn't exactly load the bricks on forty footers and deliver them to the site after getting off Route 80. The bricks were hauled to the site on horse drawn, flat bed wagons so it only made sense to obtain them from the closest local supplier.
Keep in mind also that there is a large brick arch sewer line beneath lower Main Street and probably other large streets in the older parts of Hackensack. This holds true in other cities where large trunk lines were built before the start of the 20th century.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on September 02, 2009, 04:58:23 PM
Things appear to have slowed down considerably, but I don't know why. I'm told there was yet another collapse of old brick pipe closer to Main St and that whatever they did before at the other collapse points will have to be repeated at the new one.

I hadn't heard any noise during the afternoon and took a walk over there at about 3:15. It was like a ghost town.

Picture 1: that block of Anderson St now probably looks much like it did when the brick pipes were put in - a dirt road.......minus the horse "bricks".

Pictures 2 and 3: there's now a temporary above-ground black sewer line that bypasses the work area (and probably helps to let things dry out underground). This line runs along the south curb from near Union St almost to Main St.

Picture 4: the Second Reformed Church word-plays about having their own "problem", but has a better solution (I don't think you'd want to look for any messages inside the broken sewer pipe).



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on September 09, 2009, 03:53:42 PM
It's now a week later and even LESS is happening..............like ZERO. The last piece of heavy equipment was hauled away yesterday. I know there's a lot of work still to be done and I would think that it would be in everyone's best interest to get this road open ASAP, but................

What could be the cause of the delay? Negotiations? Waiting for parts? Start of the football season?

Photos from today:

1. Nada

2. Oh wait.........there WERE some new additions! Bags of clothing and mattresses! Anybody wanna speculate about that?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on September 09, 2009, 04:48:01 PM
When a contractor pulls his equipment off a job this big before it is finished there is usually one underlying issue:

DOLLARS
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: itsme on September 09, 2009, 06:49:32 PM
Is there running water for the apartments located in that area?
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on September 09, 2009, 07:45:23 PM
Is there running water for the apartments located in that area?

Yes. The problem is with a sewer pipe - not a water pipe.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 09, 2009, 05:00:14 PM
It's been exactly one month since I last posted about this. What's happened in the interim? I'll show you.


(http://i35.tinypic.com/1zxkxdz.jpg)


This is a combination of 2 images: (l-r), one taken on September 9 and the other taken today, October 9.

On September 9, I labeled the first picture "Nada". I'm not sure what to call today's......."Mas nada"? "Nada ounce of improvement"?  "Nada worker in sight"? Other suggestions welcome.

What's even sadder than the loss of a vital Hackensack thoroughfare is the lack of information provided by the city to Hackensack residents - especially those in the affected neighborhood. You KNOW something's not right when people are asking ME what's going on. Is it really a good idea to leave us with nothing but rumor, speculation, and third-hand knowledge? Would it really kill someone in the know to post once in a while and keep us informed?

And I'm not referring to this site's Editor - I'm referring to people with knowledge who are directly involved in whatever's going on............assuming something IS going on.

Until then, here's what we have (and have had):


(http://i36.tinypic.com/ic4nyf.jpg)


As for rumors/speculation, I've heard two scenarios:

1. The block will be closed off and made into a pedestrian mall. The three non-residential entities most affected by all this - you know who they are - will combine to create a new product found nowhere else: religious medical moving vans.

2. The block will become a tourist destination: Steelhenge!


(http://i37.tinypic.com/w0pbpj.jpg)



And as for that third-hand knowledge? This is a really wild one that bears watching:

The city received bids for the work that were to be opened on September 29. If one was found to be acceptable, work would commence on October 15...........AND BE COMPLETED IN THREE DAYS!

Anyone care to confirm or deny? Kindly shed some light on what's going on in our neighborhood.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on October 09, 2009, 05:47:37 PM
If the guy smoking a cigar in the back room of the candy store offers you an over/ under bet on 3 days to repair the sewer, take the "over" and bet the ranch.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 10, 2009, 08:40:39 AM
Actually, the City distributed 250 fliers to local residents and businesses on Wednesday.  As I understand it, this needs to be bid a second time due to higher than anticipated proposals and irregularities with the bid.  Bidding takes at least 10 days (state law). The damage to the underline pipes is extensive.   
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: itsme on October 10, 2009, 09:32:23 AM
I appreciate the fact the City distributed 250 fliers to local residents.  However, since this is a major thoroughfare, the City could have made some type of public address, press release or notification to all of the citizens of Hackensack regarding the repair status.  Open communication eliminates the dissemination of false information.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on October 10, 2009, 09:58:59 AM
I hear that the guy down the corner just upped the anty to 10 days and the over.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 10, 2009, 10:08:38 AM
Actually, the City distributed 250 fliers to local residents and businesses on Wednesday.

Interesting. I spoke to one of those major businesses twice since Wednesday and they had no knowledge whatsoever of any new information.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 10, 2009, 05:20:36 PM
This was also posted on September 17:

http://www.hackensack.org/controls/eventview.aspx?MODE=SINGLE&ID=467

The County Seat also ran a story about it.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 10, 2009, 06:53:59 PM
(http://i37.tinypic.com/2jtgfc.png)


Neither of those is the least bit informative about what's going on or why the delay. Telling us on September 17 that the road is closed for 4-5 weeks "due to continued repairs" is disingenuous at best, since actual repair work ceased 2 weeks prior to September 17 and has not resumed.

That would be..........uh, let's see........add the 2, carry the 1...........5 weeks of continued non-repair!

Just give us honest facts and periodic updates - even if it's not good news.

We can take it.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 11, 2009, 09:39:04 AM
This was also discussed at length at the last three open, public City Council meetings which the press attended.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 11, 2009, 10:39:59 AM
And were the three main affected businesses notified in advance that such discussion would take place?

What press were there and where are the resultant, fully-informative articles?

Expecting the businesses and entire neighborhood to show up at every council meeting on the off-chance that such a discussion might take place is hardly an efficient method of information dissemination.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 11, 2009, 03:03:14 PM
The notice was ALSO placed on Channel 77, Cablevision and Channel 42, Verizon.  

For anyone who is counting, that's: newspaper, internet, hand-delivered fliers, television, public meetings.  

The public meeting schedule is published more than a year in advance in several places including newspaper, official calendars and the website (http://www.hackensack.org/content/369/default.aspx).

There are plenty of people who attend these meetings to discuss issues that are genuinely important to them.  So- I don't think it is unreasonable to expect people to show up at meetings, because they do.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 11, 2009, 04:39:00 PM
<< For anyone who is counting, that's: newspaper, internet, hand-delivered fliers, television, public meetings. >>


And yet no one seems to have any specific information about what's going on.

Why would that be?

Newspaper, Internet, Television: no informative or up-to-date information - we all know the street is closed

Fliers: email from one of the 3 businesses yesterday - "no flier here"

Public Meetings: no advance notice about specific discussion regarding this topic. The fact that meetings are scheduled a year in advance has nothing to do with the issue at hand.


It's clear that dissemination of information needs an upgrade over the current scavenger hunt model. Why not offer to collect email addresses of interested parties and simply send out a FACTUAL weekly update? Wouldn't that be a lot more efficient?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 11, 2009, 05:12:19 PM
The city used to do weekly email blasts to a subscriber-base of about 1,100 residents. One major problem with email blasts: Despite the fact that people SUBSCRIBE to them, many often forget this and register complaints with their ISP that our email is SPAM (any unsolicited email). Then, the ISP BANS the hackensack.org domain so, for example, we can no longer send emails to any AOL subscribers. This caused huge problems with information dissemination via email.  In response to this, the city started using RSS feeds (http://www.hackensack.org/controls/eventview.aspx?MODE=SINGLE&ID=327) which lets ANYONE automatically pull down (as opposed to the city pushing) information from our site. Anyone who subscribed to our feeds would have received the notification about Anderson St.

I understand your point, but I think the city has made considerable efforts in keeping affected residents informed.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 11, 2009, 06:31:35 PM
How about this: instead of blasting a thousand or more people about everything that goes on all the time, why not set up separate, short-term "incident" blasts?

For instance, set up an email list for the Anderson St problem. It would be a small list and temporary - the businesses, me, and any other neighborhood resident - or any Hackensack resident - who would like weekly updates regarding this problem. If people call City Hall or the DPW about it, offer to add them to the email list so that people don't keep calling and wasting city employees' time. Provide real information in those updates and toss the list when the street is fixed.

If something else happens in another part of town, do the same there for the affected people in that area until the problem is resolved.

Pulling information from hackensack.org about this problem is useless - all that's on the site at the moment is the same September 17 notice posted above. The information is incorrect and even if it wasn't, it's never been updated.

This solution is simple and efficient - it's area-specific, targeting the people who need the information and it's short-term.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 11, 2009, 07:10:08 PM
Not a bad idea.  It's definitely something worth considering.

As always, Bob, thanks.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 12, 2009, 11:19:24 AM
OK - good.

It should be easy to set this up quickly.

Keep us posted.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 12, 2009, 08:06:47 PM
The City Manager approved the idea.

I amended our public notice to read: Anyone who would like periodic updates about Anderson Street should send an email to citymanager@hackensack.org with subject line "Anderson Street Status".

Let's try it out.

Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on October 12, 2009, 08:38:58 PM
Can the periodic updates also be posted on this website?
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 12, 2009, 09:03:46 PM
Sure. We'll know more in the next couple of days.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 13, 2009, 10:44:29 AM
I amended our public notice to read: Anyone who would like periodic updates about Anderson Street should send an email to citymanager@hackensack.org with subject line "Anderson Street Status".

Thanks, that's great - the emailed information may have added benefits by providing lessons in civics and history with regard to the bidding process and the problems caused by the antiquities beneath our streets.

Question: could a new notice with this new information be placed on hackensack.org since many people have seen that info box for nearly a month and would have no reason to revisit it because it has the 9/17 date on it?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: itsme on October 15, 2009, 08:38:15 PM
Thank you Editor for your work in updating the information on the City's website.  The new information provides a detailed description of the steps being taken to correct the problem.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on October 15, 2009, 09:13:37 PM
Thanks: http://www.hackensack.org/controls/eventview.aspx?MODE=SINGLE&ID=467

I plan on sending the email per Bob's suggestion tomorrow.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on October 29, 2009, 03:48:17 PM
Here's a welcome sight - a new crew working on Anderson St!

I didn't get the details of exactly what they'll be doing, but from the one worker I spoke to, it sounded like it would more laparoscopic in nature than the open-heart surgery of 2 months ago.

I imagine that an update is coming soon with better details.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 06, 2009, 04:40:06 PM
Thinking they should be almost done by now, I asked a couple of workers today when they'd be wrapping things up and  - almost in unison - they said, "The end of the year"!

One indicated that they'd have to cross Main St. and go to River St. Assuming he wasn't pulling my leg, what a mess THAT will be!

If true, I'm guessing that would not be part of the most recent bid proposal and the city would have to go through that process again.

Where does it end? Those brick pipes are all over the city.


BTW - has anyone received any email updates? I know of more than one person who signed up, but hasn't. If you didn't, one was posted on the city's site on October 30, but not everyone goes there, especially when they think it's showing up in their inbox.

Since it wasn't posted on this site either, this is it in its entirety:

(http://i37.tinypic.com/2yl5oie.jpg)



Below are some pictures taken since work resumed.

The third one is right on the SW corner of Main and Anderson and the last one appears to be the block's blowhole.


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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: regina on November 07, 2009, 08:41:24 PM
Thinking they should be almost done by now, I asked a couple of workers today when they'd be wrapping things up and  - almost in unison - they said, "The end of the year"!

One indicated that they'd have to cross Main St. and go to River St. Assuming he wasn't pulling my leg, what a mess THAT will be!

If true, I'm guessing that would not be part of the most recent bid proposal and the city would have to go through that process again.

Where does it end? Those brick pipes are all over the city.


Who knows when this will end. The latest repairs (Main to River) are being done with "emergency" funds I believe. That has been the standard way of repairing sewer lines on an as needed basis. There just is not enough money to get it done any other way. So we keep digging a financial hole with emergency funds -vicious cycle
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: itsme on November 08, 2009, 03:09:23 PM
I also did not receive an e-mailed update although I signed up.  However, I did see it on the City's website.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on November 08, 2009, 06:49:30 PM
The last update was October 30 (same as above).  I have no new information as of yet. For anyone who didn't get the last update, please forward your email address to adib@hackensack.org. 
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 09, 2009, 04:36:54 PM
From what I gathered from the workers today, it sounds like by the time they get to work on the Main-to-River block on Anderson, the Union-to-Main block will be open. But still - I can't imagine the problems that will cause for all the bus lines that come through there and for all the cars coming across the Anderson St Bridge to get to Sears for holiday shopping, etc.

Ho! Ho! Hole!


Today's pictures:

I don't know what the apparatus in the first picture is - the Hackensack Space Needle?

In the second picture, it appears that they're mixing up a large quantity of Tang ("Not just for Astronauts!").

The third picture looks decidedly less tangy. At least one of the pipes is a sewage bypass pipe running east on Anderson going into the sewer at Main and Anderson. As I understand it, this is a necessary step to keep the broken 60" pipe area dry so the repair work can be done.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 12, 2009, 04:44:53 PM
Guess what - a new problem!

The Hackensack Space Needle turns out to be a drill and I found out they have to drill to a depth of 45 feet.


Q: Why, if the broken pipe is only 20 feet below the surface?

A: Lots of groundwater that will take a week or so to pump out.


Photos 1 and 2 show the drill apparatus, 2 blue Silent Pumps, and a lot of heavy metal, which looks like what Homer told us were called sheet piles (stop giggling!).

(Photo 1 also shows the Sears flag at half-staff...........anyone know why? I hope it's not an editorial comment on this scene.)

Photos 3 and 4 show the drill bit about to go in and on its way down.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on November 12, 2009, 07:10:32 PM
I believe that the flag flying half mast at Sears was for the day of mourning for the 13 soldiers killed at Fort Hood.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 13, 2009, 09:46:11 AM
I thought that too, so I checked it out:


STATE: Tuesday only

Flags across New Jersey are at half-staff Tuesday to honor the men and women killed in last week's shooting rampage at Fort Hood. Acting Governor Richard Codey signed the executive order Monday in recognition of the 13 lives lost and the more than two dozen who were injured, including a 20-year-old soldier from Bridgewater.


FEDERAL: through Wednesday

United States President Barack Obama has ordered U.S. Flags on government buildings to be flown at half staff as a modest token of respect for the victims of the shocking Fort Hood shooting massacre that killed 13 people on a U.S. Military base on in Texas. The flags will be flown at half staff through Veterans Day, the National Holiday commemorating veterans on November 11, 2009.



SEARS: Wednesday, Thursday, and it's still at half-staff today

Perhaps they're just extra thoughtful.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on November 13, 2009, 10:36:27 AM
Either that or they are waiting for the Anderson Street job to be finished.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 16, 2009, 05:30:11 PM
Have you all seen the latest Anderson St update on the city's site?

"11/12/09 Update:  Work is progressing on the Anderson Street sewer lines and is expected to continue for at least another two weeks.  We will provide additional information as it becomes available."

This is informative and up-to-date? This is the extent of the information available to the city in the last 2 weeks?

Where's all the info about the new problems that have popped up? What about the possibility of the work going beyond Main and Anderson? What about the extended timetable that we already know will take us until the end of the year?

This "update" tells us nothing. The city should be INFORMING us - not insulting our intelligence.



I was told by some workers today that the schedule for completion of work between Union and Main appears to be 6-8 weeks, assuming no other problems pop up. One guy said he thought the project was only going as far as mid-Main and not to River St.

The 45'-deep groundwater is being drained. Should take a week.

The street is opened up again right in the middle of the block and the sheet piles are being pounded into the ground again. What seems strange is that this is being done right where it had been done before.

Remember "Steelhenge"? It's been recreated in the same spot. I'm sure there's a good reason, but it seems odd to the casual observer.

Guess what? You can see in the second picture that the Sears flag is still at half staff! Maybe it IS related to Anderson St. But at this stage, I think the proper flag etiquette would be to fly it upside-down.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 24, 2009, 03:40:19 PM
Below are 3 images from last Friday and 4 more from today. It appears that a lot of work was done in those 3 days (they were off Sunday).

There was a long opening - wide and deep - on Friday and today it was getting asphalt. A couple of smaller holes are present and I was told Friday that another large opening - closer to Main St - still has to be made.

I was also told on Friday that they are NOT going past Main St to River St and that they HOPED to git 'er done a week before Christmas. Bear in mind that the things I'm told are guesstimates/hopes and are always subject to change.

One part of the work area today looked like butterscotch and another smelled like tar - an interesting sensory combo.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on November 24, 2009, 04:19:55 PM
And how about the Sears flag?
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 24, 2009, 06:37:54 PM
And how about the Sears flag?

I have NO idea what that smelled like.  ;D



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on November 24, 2009, 07:25:02 PM
Spoken like a true Craftsman.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 25, 2009, 04:11:03 PM
Today, the first big street opening appears done and work on the second one - closer to Main St - has begun.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on November 25, 2009, 04:24:46 PM
Sometimes when no one's around to operate them, the large apparatuses seem to group together on Anderson St and make strange metal-on-metal sounds. It looks a bit like this:


(http://i45.tinypic.com/2rzv3uw.jpg)


Now I know why.

This little guy entered the world around the corner on Ward St last night, weighing in at one ton, 15 ounces.


(http://i50.tinypic.com/14cuotx.jpg)


Awww......ain't he cute?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on November 25, 2009, 05:24:58 PM
Definitely a boy.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 01, 2009, 04:20:02 PM
TODAY'S SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

The right lane on southbound Main St approaching Anderson was blocked off because of the work, so I guess it'll be a little slow-going there for a while.

Lotsa stuff on the street today and lotsa pounding of sheet piling into the ground, as you can see below. You can also see a mysterious shadow taking pictures in the fourth image.

I also tried my cell video cam on the soothing sounds of a piling installation:

http://xrl.us/1Dec09Anderson

Bear in mind that the video host blows up the screen size substantially and a cell phone video screen size is very small.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 02, 2009, 03:00:17 PM
This is a video I took from my apartment on August 25, 2009 when the Anderson St crew was working 24 hours a day. Oddly enough, they're shown doing the exact same work that the new crew is doing today (and yesterday, as I posted then).

http://xrl.us/25Aug09Anderson

To the outsider, it seems roughly analogous to a toothless man who was given a new set of dental implants, then has them all extracted, and then has a second set put in.

http://v6.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=2dwamq1&s=6
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on December 02, 2009, 03:59:01 PM
 
At least the toothless guy will have a set of pearly white choppers to show for his efforts. If and when the Anderson Street project is ever finished, the underground work will be paved over to remain just another unseen tribute to life in the Big City.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 04, 2009, 06:32:05 PM
Work continues on the opening by Main St.

As I was leaving, I saw a long flatbed with some sheet piling on it that looked like it was about to enter the western closed-off area. I heard them tell the driver that he'd have to BACK it in!

I couldn't see how that could happen. He was already facing the wrong way, there's not much room in which to maneuver there - especially with traffic on Union and Anderson - and it was a flatbed truck that looked like it was a block long.

He backed up and turned onto Union. Then he made his first attempt and backed into some barriers near the entrance. On the second try, he made it!

Nice driving.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on December 04, 2009, 10:27:01 PM
From this angle the steel on the truck doesn't look like sheet piles; rather, it looks like two I beams which may be used  as part of a brace to protect work in a deep trench. This could be tricky.

At this point it looks like the contractor has the right manpower and the right equipment  to do the job. You can compare this project to a guy walking into a hospital with a pain in his stomach only to find out that he needs an appendectomy, a heart transplant, a lung transplant, and a liver transplant. After all this the doctors are still waiting for the results of a CAT scan to see if there is anything else that needs replacing before they close this poor soul up.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 07, 2009, 09:00:56 PM
I could see from my living room that Main St was closed near me today. After dark, the bright lights went up after the usual quitting time, so I took a walk over there at around 8pm.

They've gone right up to the middle of the Anderson/Main intersection and some of the equipment is sitting on Main, which appears to be closed from Passaic St to Maple Ave. Anderson is closed from Union St to River St - those poor people who have to take buses!

They're using a smaller digger because of the plethora of utilities that they have to get through at the intersection. After they get past all that, then the fun starts with the sewer pipe. I don't know what they plan to do at that point.

One worker couldn't guess a completion date. He confirmed that they currently have no plans to go any further east, but then surprised me by saying he thinks they'll have to make yet another opening to the west of the first one. He wasn't sure exactly where, but it sounds like Anderson and Union.

You can see that they've swung the traffic light around and that there'll be a delayed green if you want to drive through the Holman building's brick wall.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on December 07, 2009, 09:49:07 PM
Old Homer was down there this morning. Here's hoping that they can tie into a structurally sound trunk line somewheres under the Main Street / Anderson Street intersection. Who really knows the condition of the line that they are tying into.

Basically they have to excavate the target area and determine how A will go into B without getting ambushed by some utilities.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 08, 2009, 05:37:44 PM
Since they hadn't reached the brick pipe that I wanted another picture of last night, I was told to come back today. Of course, when I did, it was long gone. Oh, well.

No one today knew anything about a third opening near Anderson and Union, so, hopefully, the guy who told me that last night was just misinformed.

I have to get on one-way Ward St to park when I come home, but Main St was closed between Passaic St and Maple Ave. What to do? A cop advised me to come down Passaic and there'd be an opening in the barrier on Main and just make a left.

Sounded simple...........until I got to Union and Passaic, where a detoured NYC-bound 165 bus on Union was trying to make a left onto a backed-up Passaic St. It seemed like it took about 20 minutes to get from Union to Main St, where the REAL problem was.

Main St traffic was turning east and west onto Passaic. There were always 2 westbound-to-be cars from Main in the intersection when Passaic had the light, so nothing moved. When it DID, the westbound cars on Passaic that were stopped at Main were right behind them, so it was pretty difficult to turn left onto Main.

According to the latest update from the City, this should only be a problem for another day or two, when Main St will be reopened.


In the first picture, they're getting the replacement pipes in place.

In the second, the little digger from last night is gone.

In the third, I didn't like the shot I got of this last night, so I had to get a cleaner one of it today. There's not a lot of humor in this project, so I have to take it when and where I find it.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: itsme on December 10, 2009, 10:52:38 AM
I appreciate the updates from the readers as well as the Editor on this subject.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on December 10, 2009, 12:06:09 PM
Rain held up progress yesterday but I understand that Main will be opened some time tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed. Anderson should be done before Christmas.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 11, 2009, 02:56:01 PM
It was windy and freezing - not a great day for a photo escapade - but I wanted to check the progress on Anderson St and see how close they were to opening Main St.

In the first photo, you can see what Anderson looks like today.

The second image shows you Main St at Anderson, where the traffic lights are back in place. This was taken at about 1:45pm today. A worker says he still thinks Main will open today and that Anderson should be ready next week.

In the third photo, as I was about to take a picture, a really powerful (and prolonged) blast of wind kicked up a ton of stinging dirt and, as you can see, bent every building, traffic light pole, road sign and photographer in sight. It kind of knocked me sideways, so that's why my composition isn't up to its usual stellar quality ::), but it wound up giving me a shot of its effect on the orange netting.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 11, 2009, 08:39:19 PM
Main St is open.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 15, 2009, 08:37:51 PM
I talked to a couple of the workers today and the consensus is that Anderson St could open Thursday, but Friday is more likely. They've got paving and a lot of cleanup to do first.

So, citizens of Hackensack, come out Friday for the big Anderson St re-opening party. There'll be speeches by dignitaries, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, champagne for all, marching bands, dancing girls, and special prizes for the first 100 vehicles to make it all the way from Union St to Main St without breaking any pipes.

(and if you believe any of THAT, I've got a genuine Rolox watch to sell you)


Here are today's images: the Main St repair, still sucking smelly stuff out of the street (shouldn't that be gone if the new pipes are in?), and paving.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 18, 2009, 11:43:10 AM
I went over to the site yesterday to see how close they were to opening Anderson St. As you can see below, all the equipment is gone and the repaired areas are paved, albeit kind of unevenly.

I was guessing maybe a resurfacing/repaving would be needed today, but as I look out my window, I see a yellow center stripe has been painted on the street and a Parking Meter Control van is there.

Maybe they fixed the road up a bit since I was there yesterday...........I'll have to take a walk over there later and see.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on December 18, 2009, 12:56:24 PM
On a job like this the contractor will come back and top it in the spring. Because the excavation was so deep and the soil conditions so poor, you will see a lot of setteling over the coming winter. Come April the Street will look like a mine field. Once the freeze/thaw cycles end then the contractor will return.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 18, 2009, 02:01:34 PM
They're just waiting for the paint to dry.............



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on December 18, 2009, 02:40:45 PM
Just in time for the snow plows and the salt trucks to ride over it.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on December 18, 2009, 04:20:17 PM
ANDERSON STREET IS...

(http://i49.tinypic.com/2r5c5f5.gif)



It's been 4 months since you've seen this:

(http://i48.tinypic.com/4rrf38.jpg)




Take a ride with me on Sewerbrick Road:

View My Video (http://tinypic.com/r/303co5w/6)



OK - am I done here?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Skipx219 on December 18, 2009, 05:46:34 PM
Sounds like you need a tune-up & new shocks !   :o
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on March 20, 2010, 10:32:20 PM
OK - am I done here?

Apparently not.

I heard a jackhammer coming from a familiar direction, so I took a stroll over to Sewerbrick Road. Westbound traffic was blocked off by a police car at Main St.

I'm not quite sure what happened. One of the workers tried shouting an explanation over the noise and the only word I heard was "sinkhole".

It doesn't look like a big deal, but what do I know?



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on March 20, 2010, 10:48:05 PM
The work crew is now gone, the hole is filled, covered, and the street is open to westbound traffic (eastbound was never blocked).



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on June 03, 2010, 07:36:22 PM
Anyone have any idea when the overly-lumpy block of Anderson St between Main and Union will finally be repaved? All I (rightfully) heard months ago was, "Wait until it gets warm out".

I think we're there.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on June 04, 2010, 11:20:01 AM
Here's hoping that the money for this work has been encumbered and is not coming out of the police department police chief defense fund. Otherwise.....................................
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on July 19, 2010, 08:51:49 PM
WHAT is wrong with Anderson St? They're STILL working on it!

PSE&G has had a bunch of their trucks by Holman's today and the better part of last week. They keep digging and covering it up. Maybe that's why that block will never be repaved - the never-ending repair work.

This photo was taken today.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Homer Jones on July 19, 2010, 09:55:54 PM
If you want to see poetry in motion just wait until they start making the repairs at 300 Prospect. For every laborer on the job there will be four inspectors, three superintendents, two foremen and one lawyer. Anderson Street will seem like the stairway to heaven.
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on August 19, 2010, 06:43:00 PM
Guess what? Today is the one-year anniversary of the creation of the big hole in Anderson St. Happy Anniversary, A-hole!

Let's throw a party..............or better yet, let's all throw anniversary cakes at the street. Maybe the cars running over them will fill in the uneven parts so that it's finally smooth again.

It sure doesn't seem like anyone else is interested in getting it back to the way it was.



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Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: HHS72 on August 19, 2010, 08:32:11 PM
Welcome to Hackensack the City in MOTION
Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: Editor on September 08, 2010, 05:03:48 PM
Update: The Council passed a bond ordinance last night for "ROAD RESURFACING ON COMMERCE WAY, UNIVERSITY PLAZA AND ANDERSON STREET IN AND BY THE CITY OF HACKENSACK, IN THE COUNTY OF BERGEN, NEW JERSEY, APPROPRIATING $350,000".

Title: Re: Road Cave-in on Anderson St
Post by: BLeafe on September 09, 2010, 01:41:16 AM
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