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dempom t1_je4qmdw wrote

It tares me up inside that they will go and teir up a road and not fix it right away. A tore of our roads would reveal the sad state of our infrastructure.

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wrongwaycorrigan t1_je4w1n3 wrote

This is a process called asphalt milling. It is part of the regular maintenance in our street system. This is usually in preparation for fresh pavement. It's not all going to happen at once.

You can view the schedule online.

https://nycstreets.net/PavementWorks/Project/WeeklyResurfacingSchedule/M

There is nothing sad about this.

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Quietpartsaloud t1_je50p0a wrote

If we didn’t mill before paving, the streets would be thiccc

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jmartkdr t1_je62p0x wrote

By now they’d be thiccccccccccccc and you’d need to install new doors onto the street sheds.

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kennerly t1_je52cpf wrote

What's really sad is that they milled down all the corners at 193rd so now it's a struggle to get a stroller up the curb with all the rough terrain.

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-Tony t1_je607es wrote

They should have ramped it for you.

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kennerly t1_je60xdp wrote

Yeah they ramped all the other corners but decided not to do the roundabout for some reason. I'm just hoping we get repaved soon.

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grambell789 t1_je55ot0 wrote

I've been curious how they deal with manholes when doing this.

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Gfoley4 t1_je5rouo wrote

You can see in the picture they built a temporary asphalt ramp around the manhole in the center. I’m not sure the SOP for NYC in particular, but most structures have adjusting rings sitting just below the frame/lid that you see. A crew will adjust the structures in the road to the final grade before the paver comes by. This is usually a concrete patch around the structure, either on the final grade or in a layer below so you don’t see it. That way they just pave around the structure.

Sometimes they are at the same grade now and don’t need adjustment. A company I’ve worked for also had a different specification for manholes in the middle of the road - adjusting the frame downward so it’s not sticking up of the road in the interim condition - then back up again to the final elevation.

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grambell789 t1_je5sauv wrote

I'm more curious about the milling process. I've seen the machines and it just looks like a big rotor with knives - hammers on it. how to they deactivate those when that part of the rotor gets near the manhole, is there some kind of ferrous sensor? I never see a manhole battered so they must be pretty effecicent at detecting and avoiding them.

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alheim t1_je5rxaw wrote

Generally, the primary manhole has a sort of metal ring/extension on it. The extension is about the thickness of the new course of fresh assault. It can be removed temporarily to lower the height of the manhole after the street has been cut

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Panelak_Cadillac t1_je5daza wrote

Try telling the Munsters & Susies up here that. Ft. Tryon is like a retirement home-lite bitch fest now on account of the construction, whereas before when they needed to drive their Subarus up to their 2nd homes in the HV, they were complaining that someone needed to fix the road 🤷‍♂️

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oreosfly t1_je5vk6t wrote

As someone who knows nothing about repairing roads.. why do they mill the street and then leave it in that condition for weeks before repaving? Milled roads are terrible for cars, terrible for bikes, and terrible for air quality in the surrounding neighborhood.

Is there an engineering reason as to why they cannot mill on night 1 and replace on night 2? Or is it just a logistical thing?

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rioht t1_je7lgrm wrote

A bit of both. You need to be sure that all areas of the road are ready to be paved, the weather needs to be not super wet or anything, and probably logistical/contracting/regulatory stuff - did all sections get inspected, repaired, etc.

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skrrrtttonu t1_je8p0p0 wrote

Gives utilities time to check on their infrastructure before it’s repaved. That way they’re not immediately ripping shit up.

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RyzinEnagy t1_je69piy wrote

The fact that some streets go a very long time between milling and resurfacing is the sad part. Idk if it's a lack of coordination between miller and resurfacer or what...

Edit: Looking at that schedule (small sample size, I know), it contracts out some of the milling but does all of the paving in-house, so there's more milling than paving. That looks like an issue.

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mantisman12 t1_je5sdaw wrote

They actually weight a whale between mileing and repaving to give utility companies a chance to repear there pipes

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edman007 t1_je5jhno wrote

They do it because people get pissed when you completely close a road for a week straight. Also tends to raise prices if you close small sections at a time. People prefer if you close a large area for a short period (like weekday nights for a month).

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Ieatclowns t1_je4y3p2 wrote

That's not technically cobblestone. Edit- the streets are paved with gold...thank you for the Gold!

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PeeEssDoubleYou t1_je52ezx wrote

Was just about to say this, they're setts. *pushes glasses up nose*

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thats-gold-jerry t1_je551yu wrote

What exactly are setts?

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grambell789 t1_je55g8s wrote

> setts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sett_(paving)

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thecrgm t1_je6q8j1 wrote

“Setts are often referred to as ‘cobblestones’”

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Arsepick t1_je6u040 wrote

Setts are often referred to as "cobblestones", although a sett is distinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock.

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throwaway8272727s t1_je70w15 wrote

And the next sentence after that said what?

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thecrgm t1_je7glv8 wrote

At some point if enough people use a word colloquially for something it becomes part of the meaning. There are plenty of words that didn’t originally mean something and now do because people believed a word meant something and it became that.

I’ve never heard someone say “wow this sett road is so bumpy!” it’s always cobblestone.

And the next part is “…although a sett is distinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock.”

−7

One_Sun_6258 t1_je8dhc7 wrote

Im thinking no one will ever say a sett road is bumpy .. But a cobble stone road alwayz will be .

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throwaway8272727s t1_je9kfwi wrote

“Just because my grandmother has wheels, doesn’t mean she’s a bike”

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spelunkingspaniard t1_je7msa8 wrote

You wrote all of that to avoid admitting you're wrong

−3

thecrgm t1_je7mz9b wrote

Wrong about what? I posted a quote

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_je9webd wrote

You didn't understand what it meant. The clause beginning with "although" explains that the reference is wrong.

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intellos t1_je7zgnu wrote

Linguistic Prescriptivism isn't and has never been real.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_je9w7j5 wrote

Why do some people insist on their right to be wrong? Most of us probably grew up thinking that cobblestones and Belgian Blocks (stetts) were the same until the difference was explained to us. Now we use the correct terms. Cobblestones are much more uncomfortable to walk on.

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fxthea t1_je5e9jk wrote

Also that’s not technically a tour

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70green t1_je5fu6c wrote

I was going to say, is there anything historical there to see?

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lechuga217 t1_je67q3d wrote

There are caves in Inwood hill park where natives used to live, highest natural point in Manhattan, fort Washington and fort George used to actually be forts during the revolution, and the little red lighthouse

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cutthatclip t1_je5qpxt wrote

The Morris-Jumel Mansion. House of Aaron Burr's wife and Washington's command center during the Revolutionary War.

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Moral_turpidude t1_je80skf wrote

I live in Boston, that looks more like bricks. The "Cobblestones" here look like a mix between busted up curbs stone or straight up rocks

https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:4q77ft56b

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Tall-Ad5755 t1_jecn9f7 wrote

Same here in Philly. Cobblestones are round stones. We have brick street pavements. Those are bricks.

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shamam t1_jecrwhg wrote

Belgian Blocks, or setts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sett_(paving)

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WikiSummarizerBot t1_jecrxx0 wrote

Sett (paving)

>A sett, also known as a block or Belgian block, is a broadly rectangular quarried stone used in paving roads and walkways. Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provided horses' hooves with better grip than a smooth surface, they are now encountered rather as decorative stone paving in landscape architecture. Setts are often referred to as "cobblestones", although a sett is distinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock. Setts are usually made of granite.

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VideoGamerConsortium t1_je6fbju wrote

In thr description for setts. It states its a form of cobblestone.

Technically its cobblestone

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Yourgrandsonishere t1_je6dpym wrote

They are often referred to as cobblestone, OP isn't wrong by referring to them as cobblestones, its a learning moment nothing else

−2

calebnf t1_je4x12f wrote

I just ran past this yesterday evening and noticed. I was genuinely surprised to see it, and it’s really cool. Kind of wish they kept these, honestly. Drivers would be much less likely to speed methinks.

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Odd-Emergency5839 t1_je52k7j wrote

Come to Philly, where people drive their challengers 60mph over cobblestones

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calebnf t1_je53e94 wrote

I lived in Philly for 5 years, so I’m familiar. It slows most people down, but there’s always those people.

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LittleKitty235 t1_je58rqd wrote

"Those people" tend to be the types of people that choose to live in Philadelphia. They are the reason the need to grease their lamposts.

−5

MiscalculatedRisk t1_je63lx7 wrote

My town still has original brick roads.

Red bricks.

Trust me, you want asphalt. Everyone still speeds and it's even more dangerous because once a brick road falls out of maintenance it's wildly more dangerous than an asphalt road.

Ice and water gets in-between the bricks as well and that makes them wear out faster, as well as chill them longer so that ice and snow takes even longer to melt off them, and because of the lips on the bricks catching snow plows you can't run one over them.

But remember, it gives the town character.

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calebnf t1_je6wc98 wrote

Im no expert, but I think brick is more porous and therefore more prone to damage from freeze-thaw cycles than this, which I think is granite.

1

FloraGoforth t1_je6vvz5 wrote

I’m Italian and here we have lots of original bricks/stones original Renaissance street pavements.

Many of us actually don’t like when administrations cover it with asphalt, because it’s like covering/hiding history - even though sometimes is necessary to make it easier for cars, bikes, girls with heels/sandals (hello).

I think with the right maintenance the old layer is pretty cool, at least in residential areas.

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Catatafish t1_je5ei6g wrote

They should dig up these old pavements if they're converting a road to a walking street.

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SmallButGirthy t1_je50k3e wrote

Wow that must be some intense touring, to wear (ware?) down the asphalt so much!

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bubonis t1_je503g9 wrote

A bicycle tour.

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scottmakingcents t1_je4w8bm wrote

They were tearing up my street on Monday night at like 11 pm. Bc, according to the DOT, doing it at night prevents traffic buildup. SURE

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Die-Nacht t1_je507fw wrote

They should keep it and restore it. Looks nicer and helps prevent speeding.

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bossman_k t1_je5czoq wrote

There are more effective ways to reduce speeding that don't make the roadway cumbersome for wheelchairs, skaters, etc.

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Catatafish t1_je5edgd wrote

I've seen a road tore up like this, and you could see the old trolley tracks. They didn't even take up the tracks just poured asphalt over em.

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sidewaysflower t1_je5i451 wrote

That happens every now and again. Many years ago Fulton Street from Bed-Stuy to downtown Brooklyn was being torn up and you can see the cobblestone and old street car rails. I always wondered how things could be if we still had street cars.

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hellothere42069 t1_je5eknt wrote

Take a stroll around Jummel Terrace and visit the Jummel Terrace historic district for a little slice of cobblestone street life.

It’s the oldest house in Manhattan

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soylentgreenis OP t1_je5t8iv wrote

I went last week, coincidentally. It’s beautiful but the city seems to be letting it go to the way side. They Need more funding!!

2

Pennwisedom t1_je5vjzi wrote

There's also Washington Mews with cobblestone street and a handful of other places mostly in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Then again, what's going on here happens pretty regularly so you could walk to pretty much any random part of the city and see it.

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Rarek t1_je6njzz wrote

Howdy neighbor. This solved a lot of abandoned car issues. There was one on my block for three years. You will not be missed pontiac vibe.

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ukudancer t1_je4t370 wrote

Loooooved that neighborhood!

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zo3foxx t1_je5agjl wrote

Want to see real cobblestone? Go to Redhook. It's enough to make any car driver rage

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Calm-Heat-5883 t1_je5wrl9 wrote

They took a tour around Washington heights tearing up cobble stones only to find out later that they tore up setts instead. They whole story is a load of old cobblers.

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JKastnerPhoto t1_je5bnvc wrote

That's the site of the original Tour de France.

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DheskJhockey t1_je5gij0 wrote

You can also see how much higher the current road is versus the pre-asphalt one.

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Tough_Steak t1_je6599f wrote

Nice pic OP, shame your inbox is tourn up now

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Zou__ t1_je6j0sj wrote

It’s sad cause cobblestone is far superior to ash fault.

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jae343 t1_jeby1ia wrote

It is but once you actually have to maintain or fix them its not as quick with machinery compared to asphalt, walking or driving on them in DUMBO where the upkeep is not the best is not fun.

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Love_Snow_Bunny t1_je6sc1q wrote

This the "nice" part of the Heights. Gonna have to grind to move west of Broadway

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lemming-leader12 t1_je8d29h wrote

This is really common in old Northeast cities but especially here in the bigger cities. I used to live in Philly and saw this happen many times, and I've seen it in Brooklyn where I live now as well. Just goes to show how durable stone based roads are compared to asphalt.

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jdapper5 t1_je8gttu wrote

Setts or cobblestones they still look much cooler than asphalt. I say restore them!

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LowellGeorgeLynott t1_je9r90g wrote

I can’t tell if that “tour” spelling is from non-native English or excessive Englishness

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nhu876 t1_je9x5p6 wrote

I grew up in Brooklyn and up until the 1970s there were many places where you could see the old cobblestones and even the old trolley car tracks poking through the asphalt.

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Chemical-Ebb6472 t1_jebobye wrote

Thanks for the reminder. My dad used to work varied shifts and commute via our VW Bug to his job in lower Manhattan. The city was digging up these cobblestones on a Brooklyn street on his way home (don't remember which) in the 1960s and he loaded a Bug's worth of these cobblestones home each day until he had enough to do our driveway.

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flyerhell t1_je52hw1 wrote

Any idea when the original roads were covered and when the original road was first laid down? I'm really curious about how old those stones are. They could easily be 150 years old.

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the_lamou t1_je55rwu wrote

>I'm really curious about how old those stones are.

If they were quarried locally, about 450 million years old.

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sujihiki t1_je530dc wrote

Setts require more maintenance than asphalt?

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aetp86 t1_je5al15 wrote

I don't think so. That part of Washington Heights wasn't settled until the 1920's if I remember correctly.

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cutthatclip t1_je5qcy2 wrote

Keep the original streets alive!

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hirnwichserei t1_je6exab wrote

I know we have, like, bigger issues to worry about, and stuff, but can the city please bring back cobblestones, because they're pretty? Thanks.

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originvape t1_je6g44z wrote

I’m so surprised to see cobblestones so high up in the street numbers. Wash heights is a far cry from soho, and I thought cobblestones stopped being used in the 19th century.

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NewPower_Soul t1_je6lqqp wrote

Cobblestones or setts… those things will outlast the pyramids. Quality product.

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Bronx_Fellow t1_je6zg9k wrote

I thought they were called Paving Blocks. Not so long ago they were seen all over NYC, and I imagine some still exist without cover. Some streets had intricate designs. The streets around the Manhattan side of the Queensborough Bridge had nice patterns(ask Simon and Garfunkel), and beneath the el on Jerome Ave. in the Bronx around the el pillars there was beautiful brickwork. Van Dam St. near the LIE was another well-known street paved with stones. Riding a bicycle on some of these streets would shake your dental fillings loose.

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Tall-Ad5755 t1_jecnm7d wrote

Paris still has them in spades. All along the champs elysees and more. The grand streets should have them still imo. It adds so much

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Most-Pilot5086 t1_je7gyxj wrote

Hit the up arrow if you drove over cobblestone and it felt good for some reason like a massage chair

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drdavidjacobs t1_je4tl1u wrote

I just moved out here, I would love to go seenit

0

ChrisWears4U t1_je4vnr8 wrote

Seems like OP just moved here too, this is not uncommon. You’ll see it , don’t worry.

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drdavidjacobs t1_je4wymb wrote

I like going to the village and soho to walk bricked roads, I love nyc

0

Aboy325 t1_je64kmw wrote

Go to the Morris-jumel Mansion near 160th and st nicholas, there's 2 small streets that are still like this, plus a row of townhouses from the 1880's that are restored, and the oldest building in Manhattan (the Morris-jumel Mansion built in 1765)

1