Rich Pedersen, SEH engineer, informed the council two tests were taken, one on Aug. 1, the day paving was finished, and the second on Aug. 28. Both sets of tests failed to meet the Minnesota Department of Transportation specifications. The specified compaction results should read 95 percent. The results on the first test came in anywhere from 88.5 to 93 percent. The second test results ranged from 90 to 94 percent.
"I talked with the state and they rarely make a contractor rip out the tar and start over," Pedersen told the council. The area with the lowest test scores is located near the elementary school. "At this point, it is a council decision," he added.
Councilman Dennis Zimmerman asked what will the outcome be if the bituminous is allowed to stay. Pedersen said the council could see rutting as time progresses. Pedersen said they aren't allowing the second/final layer of bituminous to be laid until the issue is resolved.
The council asked Pedersen if he had a recommendation. "After talking with other engineers, you could take the 10 percent deduction or use the first set of tests and remove the areas that failed. It is hard to tell where the failed areas start and end," he said.
Ron Mergen, Paynesville Public Works Director, said he would like to see the city use the first set of tests and have Bauerly remove the failed portions, plus increase the thickness of the wear course a half inch.
After further discussion, the council agreed they wanted the job done right and will request Bauerly Brothers to remove the bituminous and repave parts of Minnesota Street.
City accepts Bauerlyâs counter proposal
Bauerly Brothers, St. Cloud, presented the city of Paynesville with a counter proposal on the bituminous work on Minnesota Avenue.
The city accepted the offer of a five percent deduct ($2,500) and the addition of an extra half inch of bituminous over the entire project.
"We felt the base course had a good mixture of bituminous even though it failed the density tests. If the tests were as bad as the lab indicated, the base course would have been breaking up,ä"Ron Mergen, public works director, said.
In other business: the council set Monday, Sept. 30, as a special meeting to meet with SRF Consulting Group, Inc., Minneapolis. SRF wishes to meet with a group of community leaders to discuss Paynesville, specifically, as what to do with Highway 23...go through Paynesville or bypass the city. Representatives to be invited to the meeting include Paynesville Township, Paynesville Chamber of Commerce, EDAP, planning commission, school board, Pay-Del-Co, and local realtors.
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