Annapolis Capital Punishment

What you are looking at were two pieces of what had been a part of Sixth Street by the bridge in Eastport. Yup. The corroded metal was once part of a covered expansion joint that had become fully exposed and was easily lifted out of a three-inch wide and at least as deep crevasse in what most of us simply know as Sixth Street. Originally, I believe this steel was laid down between the larger pieces of road surface to separate them, presumably as an expansion joint, but I am not a highway engineer. The fact that other steel joints are exposed AND that asphalt has come completely loose strongly suggests that the road has been seriously deteriorating for years. As a frequent bicyclist on that road, I know how bad it has been and how much worse it has become.

The five inch chunk of asphalt to the right was only one of many fist-sized and larger pieces of road surface loosely laying in one of those many fissures and could easily be picked up as they were completely loose.

It seems reasonable to expect that one of the primary roles of a local government is to maintain our roads, which is why there are so many jokes about and references to "filling potholes" when it comes to local politics. One of my pet concerns has been this one-block section of Sixth Street in Eastport that needs special care and attention because it is so busy. But despite pleas in various forms to various officials and city employees over the years, I was unable to get anywhere. Then, last Saturday night while bicycling around town after the parade and prior to the fireworks, I had the chance to inspect this particular section of road because it was closed to automobiles. I was shocked. Do you suppose I'll get arrested for vandalizing and stealing city property?

Yeah, this is serious and it's not some tiny alley--it's one of our main thoroughfares. Here is what I wrote about it on October 16, 2008:

"When CP asked for help in resurfacing the half-block portion of heavily traveled and highly visible Sixth Street from the Eastport Bridge to Severn Ave., nobody, not even Cohen [then an alderman] did a thing--even though we had already resurfaced both the bridge AND resurfaced the remainder of Sixth Street FROM SEVERN to the south leaving that tiny section a disaster today. Try riding your bike on it with all the fissures and cracks but watch out for the boulder sized space where a chunk of concrete has been missing--for years!"

If we can spend money right and left for Ellen O's pet projects, how could we have let this busy and seriously damaged section of road go undetected? It's the gateway to Eastport and Ellen O's home turf. I guess if it were a tree, it would have been fixed by now.

I called Alderman Ross Arnett about it Monday and he promised to have acting Public Works Director Bob Agee look into it. I asked Ross to please let Mr. Agee know that I was on his case about it. Arnett immediately spoke with Agee and inspected the section of road together. Arnett told me that action will be taken soon which will be reported upon. Thanks to Arnett and Agee.



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