Contractors are currently scrambling to finish remedial work on several Walnut Street sidewalks. The sidewalks are part of an overall road project on the 500 and 600 blocks that includes road paving, curbs, and ramps. As Columbia Spy reported HERE, property owners on the two blocks complained to borough council recently about various problems with the project.
In response, engineering firm C.S. Davidson provided information and updates on the project at the borough’s November Public Works and Property Committee meeting. The firm’s representative, Derek Rinaldo, who serves as the borough’s Engineer of Record, told the committee, “We’re aware of several issues on that street right now.” He named cracking concrete, blocked drains, and overspray as a few of those issues. Rinaldo said he developed a punch list of over 20 items after walking the site several times with the borough’s Ron Miller and Jake Graham. [Miller is Public Works Director, and Graham is Highway Department Manager.]
Regarding concrete cracking, Rinaldo said, “We’re not concerned with the integrity of the concrete.” He pointed out that the concrete used for the job is rated at 4,000 psi and must meet borough standards based on PennDOT 408 specifications that govern various aspects of construction.
During sidewalk installation, another problem became apparent: a sinkhole that opened near 647 Walnut. Rinaldo said a urethane injection method is typically used to fill in any voids and spaces associated with a sinkhole. In the process, a spray foam is injected underneath the road and curb, which expands to fill the affected area. A second sinkhole opened this past Sunday, near 651 Walnut.
Another possible factor contributing to drainage problems, according to Rinaldo, is the street’s high crown. Unfortunately, lowering the crown would require tearing up and totally reconstructing the street, potentially adding several hundred thousand dollars to the cost. Rinaldo said testing and core samples of the street did not show a need for reconstruction, because the base is strong. Profile milling was done instead; that is, taking a very small amount of material off the top and replacing it with petromat, a fiber-containing paving material that provides an extra layer of strength over trench cuts and divots.
Columbia Spy 
R citizen How do you know it was done to specs and the borough being union has a lot to do with the pay scale . If the engineer oked this the firm should be fired , but contractor s that aren't watched do this kind of sloppy work and it looks like Columbia's inspectors were on the take or just not there, thru this job anyone could see the out come, so it seams they weren't there. Fill out a wright to know for the specs and see and tell us what you find. Are the storm drains large enough to support more water from upper blocks, if not the job should have been stopped until we put new drains in , now if they aren't (yup) dig it up again. WHERE WAS THE COLUMBIA INSPECTER AND HIS DAILY NOTES ON THE JOB??? BOROUGH MANAGER SHOULD ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS TO THE PUBLIC !! INEXPERENCED this is not going to be the last of these things , more to come, thank you council ,your back door shi- bites the tax payers again.
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I am glad that company is not building a dam , concrete cracking does matter, did we pay for cracks?
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this has been one of the rainiest wettest years on record, only topped once. that is a huge part of the problem pertaining to Walnut St. I'm NOT saying that the contractor did a questionable job. I'm sorry that this happened, but my point is, the Borough and it's Engineer are handling the issues, knowing there are problems and trying to correct them. You see, there are no magic balls that tell you when you are working on one item, that another sinkhole is opening up. This is an extreme common occurance the past few years, and Pennsylvania is near the top of the list. Give them the chance to have everything done correctly. The Borough didn't do the work, it was bid out. Let them do what needs done.
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R Citizen we can tell you don't live on the street and tax payers are paying , the job should be done right.
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BET one thing if it was at the money pit it would be redone or stopped and done right the first time.
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WHERE WAS the public works director when this was done.
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how does one change the angle or pitch of a drain pipe.
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They saved several hundred thousand to leave the crown on knowing problems will happen ,BUT THEY SPEND MILLIONS ON THE MONEY PIT hum council ? mayor ? we are paying you people, and the borough manager ?????
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A normal street you can pull a string across curb to curb and it touches in the middle (6inch slope) What is going on here.
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It's time something is done with the council and Mayor all they do is spend money and the Manager thinks we are a big city. She needs to get a better hold on things in this Small Boro. We also have too many employees for the size of our town. Clean out and save us TAX money.
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