I would like to see the plans for the brick work on SE 1^st Avenue and Harry’s. and learn who drew them. A terrible waste of taxpayer money. The bricks around Union Street Station have been there for 25 years without issue, including where heavy vehicles drive on them (north side). These and our other brick paver installations cost a fraction of what the city is spending. Additionally, because of all the stuff being done it is taking longer to complete. That is negatively effecting the businesses (just ask them).  

What we did at Union Street:

1. Brick pavers.
2. 1 inch of leveling sand (some cement mixed in).
3. 4 inches of lime rock base.
4. Compacted the existing subsoil.
5. No expensive Gravel.
6. No expensive oversized steel.
7. No expensive concrete.

Harry’s New Paver Construction (in my opinion):

1. Waste of tax payer money.
2. The bricks did not have to be 100% removed. They are designed to be picked up as needed and then replaced.
3. A needless expensive gravel base was not evenly distributed (gravel can be used when expecting certain exceptional conditions).
4. They are preparing to install concrete over which the pavers will be placed. Concrete is NOT needed.
5. The steel that is being used is not needed, very expensive, and will impede repairs in the future.

From the Internet:

A traditional base consists of a 3/4? angular crushed stone down to fines also called Granular A or 3/4 minus. The bedding layer of this is a screed layer of concrete sand. This is the base that is recommended by ICPI in paver installation. The Granular A material is installed and compacted while adding water if necessary to help in the compaction of the material. The concrete sand is then screeded at no more than 1? in depth for the pavers to be laid on top. During the final compaction of the pavers, the concrete sand will lift into the joints of the pavers creating interlock of those pavers. The 3/4? angular crushed stone in the Granular A provides the structural integrity while the fines bind the base material together with compaction filling all of the voids. However, in our business we do not use concrete sand our installations (with the exception of concrete overlays). We find that HPB or 1/4? angular crushed clear stone is easier to work with in a traditional, open graded, or synthetic base. We are also able to use this material in the rain. For this reason, we mostly opt for an open graded base in our business for most paver installations.

From the Internet: