DON’T GIVE WHERE IT CAN’T HELP

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I haven’t felt right about Public Square since the curfew against the homeless was put into place there late last year.    I posted about Cleveland, Ohio being the Grinch City before the Holidays.   Norm Roulet even changed this site's name for a few days to Steal Neo

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So this morning when I saw the mud flowing down Ontario to Lakeside (plugging every stormdrain right to the top) , and I observed the holiday atmosphere among the hundreds of public workers talking in small groups in the warming sunshine  – I couldn’t help but have a little smile inside…

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HERE IS THE RESULT OF THE BAD KARMA IN PUBLIC SQUARE – Right smack dab in the middle of Public Square a huge hole, as if the square had been targeted by a higher power.

        CLEVELAND REPENT!

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All the new Euclid Corridor concrete collapsed, cracked, being chewed up by hydraulic hammers.  Just when it seemed to be finished - instead there will be more construction right in the face of Terminal Tower.  And the Tower City tenants are already thinning out.  

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What a Mess.  

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On a more technical note, the break in the 30 inch cast iron main took place directly under a concrete man hole structure.  The structure appeared to be new, I would guess it was replaced recently as part of the Euclid Corridor work. 

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Was the main damaged during the excavation for the new structure?  It appeared there had been about a foot of clearance between the bottom of the structure and the top of the main.  Pehaps too close.   I asked around among the water officials, but no one had any forensic news.

Did the new concrete structure transmit heavy road imposed loads and vibrations directly down onto the top of the old water main?  Sure.  Maybe that's what made the main fail.

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 I have seen mains broken because of freezing which enters into the ground adjacent to mains thought the structure.  This main itself would not have frozen due to the volume of moving water in it, but the soil between the bottom of the structure and the main may have frozen and expanded, placing pressure on the main. 

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If nothing else, there will be lots of overtime allotted.  Only way there would be more overtime is if the break happened on a week end.

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Perk was  arriving with an excavator – sure to be on Time and Materials.  Those are the jobs contractors really make money on. 

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Remember:  don’t give where it can’t help!