MEN AT WORK--THE REST OF THE STORY

Who Knew?

Unbeknownst to me, there was much more going on beneath the surface of Melrose Street than I realized. A lot more! Because by the time I returned from shopping, the street had been closed, and there were more trucks and workers digging out the hole that had been filled in earlier. 

And by the look of things, there had been a lot water flowing from the hole and running down the street.

In fact, the hole now was so deep that it required a metal box to be lowered in to shore up the sides so they could work.

And here was the problem. There was a leak in the lead fitting which had saturated the fill dirt surrounding the main which caused the road to sink.  All they had to do now is turn off the water that was still flowing so they could cut out the leaking part and put in the new piece. 

Here is the bright and shiny new piece they would use to join the two sides and fix the problem. It looks like a work of art in its own right.

Apparently shutting down the flow of water was easier said than done, because in the interim, the main burst a bigger leak and water was now bubbling and gushing from the hole and running down the street. While this looked spectacular to me, according to one of the workers I spoke with, I had missed the initial geyser that had been taller than the nearby houses. Dang!

Eventually the workers were able to close the valves and stop the water flow so they could repair the break in the main. Here a dump truck filled with gravel waits to dump its load creating a artistic reflection in a muddy puddle.

And by the time I came outside again, the hole had been filled in with gravel and dirt and was being tamped down to keep everything in place. 

Tracks in the mud caught my photographer's eye.

Tah-dah! This is how the hole looked this morning after cars had driven over it. I imagine workers will return in a day or so to finish with asphalt, 

but then, who knows? 

I got it completely wrong the first time.

MEN AT WORK

Shake, Rattle and . . . What the Heck Was That?

Just before 8 Am this morning there suddenly erupted a loud, on-going noise emanating from somewhere outside. It was much louder than a lawn mower or leaf blower and more consistent than a hedge trimmer. I took a listen out the back door and deemed it was something on the street behind, but then as I walked through the house to the kitchen, the noise grew louder, and the house began to shake. What the ??????

Alas, a City of Walla Walla street crew was grinding through the street in front of my house where the pavement had started to sink into a deep depression. This made sense since a few days ago someone had marked the area with fluorescent paint, so now they were here to fix it. 

City trucks and cars lined the street which must explain the number of workers 'supervising' the worker in the backhoe who was actually responsible for the house-shaking hammering and digging with the shovel end.

Ninety minutes later, all was quiet. A quick check found this: a temporary fix until the asphalt guys return. 

But it's really a temporary godsend because this soft gravel/dirt depression has slowed traffic down 

where the posted speed is 25 MPH but many drive much faster.