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Street Patching
LAKEVILLE OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Christopher Petree, Director
September 2011
We spend a lot of time talking
about the importance of
maintaining streets in good
condition and the role that seal
coating and crack sealing play in
preventing surface failures.
Another method used by the
Streets Division to repair and
further prevent deterioration of
the roadway are surface patches.
These are patches used to cover
an area where the top layer of
asphalt has come off as a
result of the asphalt oxidizing
and the freeze -thaw cycle of
Minnesota winters. The area
being patched is too large to
be a simple pothole repair
and not deep enough to
require milling. To make the
repair, crews simply shovel
hot mix asphalt over the
entire area to be patched,
smooth and even it out, and
then roll it to make sure it
adheres to the underlying pavement surface. The result is an effective patch
replacing the lost asphalt and protecting the underlying surface from further
deterioration. As with all asphalt preventive maintenance and repairs, the
goal is to mitigate the effects of weather and water on the road's surface and
lessen the occurrence of surface failures.
Water Main Repairs
Valve Repairs
Monitoring the integrity of the water distribution system might seem to be a
rather dull and boring job. However, it is extremely important because
unnoticed Teaks can result in
damage to the area around
the leak, as well as cost the City
money each year when
pumping volumes are reported
to the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources. The
Utilities Department works
hard to keep the difference
between water pumped and
water delivered to customers,
referred to as unaccounted
water, at less than 10 percent.
Recently, a Teak surfaced at the
intersection of 175 Street and Kenwood Trail. The planning and set up for
the repair required notifying those businesses affected by a potential water
shutoff and providing an alternate water source for those that could not
operate without water. In this case, the alternate water source was the
connection of hydrants by hose to bypass the shut off area. Also, lane
closures were set up on all four legs of the intersection to provide a safe work
zone. Working with a contractor, the valve was uncovered and the source
was discovered to be the wet
tap into the 24 -inch water
main under the intersection.
This complicated the repair
by requiring additional
excavation, additional pipe,
and the parts necessary to
replace the tap on the water
main. Crews worked on this
and one other water main
repair project on Kenwood
Trail for most of the day,
closing the holes and
patching the asphalt in Tate
afternoon.
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Water Main Break
A few days after work was completed on
Kenwood Trail, Utilities Division staff was
called out to repair a water main break on
Gerdine Avenue. The extent of the leak
was evaluated and a leak detection
contractor was called in to locate the point
of the leak. This step is important in
limiting the size of the hole and the
amount of restoration needed to the
roadway. In this case, staff did not find the
leak where indicated and had to extend
the excavation several feet toward the
intersection with Gerdine Court. This
meant that three separate attempts were
made by staff to uncover the pipe, remove
water and mud, and look for the leak. On
the third attempt, the leak
was found and sealed
using a stainless steel
repair clamp. The repair
clamp has a rubber interior
that forms around the pipe
and any cracks or holes to
close off the leak. This
makes a permanent repair
to the water main and no
additional work is
necessary. The hole was
then back filled and
prepared for an asphalt
patch.
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