I was examining the ‘steps into the river’ tonight, which are mostly completed and I noticed where there is curvature they are uneven (vertical face) – and noticeable. I’m no concrete or engineering expert, so I’m wondering if that was done for some water flow reason? You will notice in the photo that the white concrete steps are straight, but when it turns into the brown concrete it gets really wavy. This is usually the result of warped and bowed wood forms. I know if you use sheet metal forms you can probably alleviate that problem. But like I said, I’m no expert.
Anyone wish to take a stab at this? Shoddy work or something else?
Looks like poor workmanship to me. Not something I would accept as a final product. Would not pay for this quality of work.
Pretty bad huh? You should see it up close, it looks like a HS industrial arts project. Bad workmanship or not, I think the steps are stupid, even though I don’t think we need the project at all, if I were asked to make a change it would be to eliminate the steps all together.
I will give them credit on one factor though, they have an anti-slip plate on the bottom step, but it is pretty hazardous.
The bridge is another joke. There is two sidewalks within a half-block in either direction that are connected to the bike trail, there is NO reason there needs to be a bridge there. On one end it goes into Raven’s parking lot on the other end it goes into a hotel parking lot. Huh?
Hey… people who work at Raven need to get over to the Wild Sage for lunch… and they can’t waste the four extra minutes it would take to go to those sidewalks.
As to the steps – considering they didn’t add a anti-slip texture to all steps I’m wondering if the plan is to add some type of facing and capping stone to them. Dumb idea either way if you ask me.
Is there also a ramp leading down into the water or is the city going to be slapped with a huge ADA violation when this thing is finally done?
I stopped down to look at “Cherpa’s” river greenway early yesterday morning.
Those same steps that you referred to are full of many fine cracks that travel the entire width of them…
The AL had mentioned that the contractor is being called on these….sounds like there’s a story in here somewhere….
More to come on “the million dollar bridge to nowhere”
that ends in the parking lots of Raven and the Country Inn and Suites…..!!!!!!??????
The better half and myself went to Germanfest Saturday nite. I parked north of eighth street and walked along the westbank between 8th street til we ran into the Raven parking lot. Phase I was a 5.1 million dollar project. Another 1.9 mil was injected last month from phase II environmental funds. I challenge anyone to show me or any other taxpayer how this clusterf*** project can possibly have swallowed up 7 million. Talk about a mess. Go look at it from the observation deck on the westbank across from Country Inn. It is far, far, far from anything we as taxpayers were promised. And phase I is supposed to be complete the first week in October? This thing needs to be audited.
It is your normal POS city project where someone is making coin, and the taxpayers are getting shafted.
It’s called having the forms in place and then the river becoming fuller thus warping the forms but still going ahead pouring the concrete and now they are attempting to break apart these warped steps to re-fill. They will NEVER look right. The pouring of the steps was going on when we had all that rain and the river MAJORLY was flowing…causing all kinds of problems for them
Like I said, if I was the designer, NO STEPS. But you are right, you can only get the shit so shiny when you polish a turd. They should have used steel or stainless steel forms to get the curvature correct like they do with curb and gutter. They could grind it a bit to make it look better, but that will take time and money. Any other ‘enviromental’ funds available? Maybe we could use funds from the state that were paid in fines for the city pouring raw sewage into the Big Poo River . . . wait.