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BRICK BY BRICK: Workers stamp the pattern of brick onto the smooth concrete
of the new sidewalks of Somerset Village. They work for Tingley Concrete
construction Co. of Rhode Island. The process is less expensive than installing
brick, and more durable.
Sometimes high tech helps to recreate old Main
Street
By Jason G. Baker
Journal staff Writer
SOMERSET- Maybe back in town's boat-making glory days there
were brick sidewalks on Main Street. Maybe there were gaslights lining the
street and maybe people strolled along the waterfront.
Or maybe Main Street was simply a dirt road, traveled by
workers who labored daily at ironworks and boatyards in the village.
But what Main street was is not important, because town
officials hope that $1.5 million will revitalize the somewhat rundown area and
give it a new historic charm.
The project that began this year is nearing it's
Thanksgiving completion date with few hitches. This week workers are
painstakingly recreating brick sidewalks using a printing technique that is more
cost-effective and more structurally sound.
The contractor has already redone plumbing, electrical an
gas lines along the road from South Street to Old Colony Avenue. About 4,000
feet of the road was completely redone. "this is a road that's been
professionally engineered," according to Town Administrator John McAuliffe.
In the next month, the contractor will install replica
gaslights along the street and pour asphalt driveways for residents who have
patiently suffered a summer and fall of noise, dust and debris.
According to David Pavao, the construction superintendent
in charge of the project for Rehobeth contractor Manuel R. pavao, the work is
about 60 percent complete. Most aspects will be finished by Thanksgiving or
early December and a few minor touches will wait until next spring.
This week the construction crews focused most of their
efforts on the brick-printed sidewalks, Pavao said. The process is very
time-consuming as workers must pour concrete sidewalks and then follow several
steps to create the bricks.
Once the concrete is poured, workers cover the surface
with a powdered dye that simulates the color of bricks. Then a gray powder is
sprinkled on top of that to help bring out the red color. The workers place
lined templates on the wet surface and tamp them down, letting the concrete dry
almost completely.
Then they remove the templates and carefully accentuate
the lines with rollers. After letting the concrete sit overnight, they wash the
gray powder off with a power washer and spray on a protective sealer.
"It's getting very popular now," Pavao says of the
stamping technology. He says it's often used at theme parks and in historic
areas such as Newport. "It's a little cheaper than regular brick and it's
probably more durable."
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Architectural Concrete Artistry
