Trees along Muirwood Drive are Buckling and Cracking Sidewalks Again

Over the last dozen years the City of Pleasanton has replaced several of these side walk slabs of concrete on Muirwood Drive due to the city owned tree roots growing up against the slabs, causing them to buckle and crack.

The city has replaced four slabs of sidewalk in front of my residence. The two slabs they replaced about five years ago are cracking and buckling again.

Sunday, I took photos of about a dozen areas between West Las positas Blvd. and Eastwood court and Eastwood Way. Those photos are posted along with this blog.

The photos clearly define the serious trip hazard these slabs create when they are pushed up in this manner. Some of these slabs have a four inch trip hazard.

There is another area I took four photos of that is about sixteen feet of what looks like a roller coaster, not a sidewalk. It is a serious sidewalk hazard area.

When the city replaced the two slabs of concrete side walk in front of my residence five years ago, I noticed they were not poured to the proper sloop. I contacted the city engineer on this project and pointed out the error.

I informed him that, the two newly poured slabs were poured in a pyramid manner arching upward, and that they did not have a slight sloop towards the curb and gutter as the original sidewalk slabs did.

I asked him to do the work over. He said no. I wandered at the time how he could possibly sign off on such sloppy concrete work. I stated so to him. He had no comment.

It would be very nice if the current damaged slabs of concrete could be replaced. But if the work is going to be as sloppy as in the past, we are probably better off with leaving it well enough alone.

There are sidewalk slabs of concrete all over the city that are cracked and buckled that also need to be replaced. I am sure the city will get around to all of it sometime.

I certainly hope that the city engineer will attach specifications for the concrete contractor to adhere to. As to matching new slab pours to the original sloop of the existing sidewalk and to assure that the damaging roots are  completely removed before pouring new concrete.