Big water main break in downtown Duluth
January 1, 2013 at 11:58 am in Duluth News Tribune
A 16-inch water main burst late Tuesday afternoon on Superior Street in downtown Duluth, sending water gushing down the street, across Lake Avenue and into some nearby businesses. Continue Reading
And there WILL be “lazy” city workers working on it while the complainers are in their warm houses b****ing about city workers
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those people that put it in in 1889 did a pretty good job -it lasted 124 years
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That is remarkable. And I’m sure you realize I was just pulling your leg a little.
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I don’t remember anyone here ever talking about those city employees who actuallY DO something for the city (save for DFD and their dirty politics). Fire, PD, snow removal, city work crews do actual things that Duluthians need.
What we can’t stand is the sit-on-their-butt types who do nothing but operate smoke break to smoke break and expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter all because they managed to push paper and not get fired.
Example: The civilian PD worker who didn’t enter my stolen firearms into NCIC because she, and this is a direct quote from Chief Ramsey “..didn’t feel like entering them”. And when I demanded punishment be enacted and I be notified, I was told it’d be a double-negative on that, as she couldn’t be fired, nor would I be able to be notified what actions were taken.
Or would you like me to use smaller words so you get it?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Who do you think Chief Gordon Ramsay, of course a police officer himself, would rather point the finger at and say that person was wrong in your scenario? A police officer or a woman office worker? Yeah, I would guess the woman office worker. I find your comments very sexist and offensive and demeaning.
I have a relative who works for a law enforcement agency (not in Duluth) and he/she is constantly complaining about having to baby-sit the officers and hound them to get them to turn in their paperwork and reports, which this could have been the case in your version of events, a report that didn’t get turned in, or an officer “sat” on a stolen report and items didn’t get entered into NCIC.
There are many office workers who don’t just live from “smoke break to smoke break” or sit on their butts all day pushing papers around. Many, and many of those are women, actually have a good work ethic and a conscience that demands that they turn out an excellent work product and if you look closely, probably grease the wheels that run many aspects of business, manufacturing, civil service, medical field, and industry in this country.
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Sexist? Being impartial to this exchange, I don’t see a single sexist statement in that entire post.
Unless you count using “She” to describe the worker. Perhaps you would rather him call the PD worker “It”?
Your response is too over-sensitive to be taken seriously.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Spoken like a card-carrying member of the good ‘ol boy network, with all the character flaws that entails, including being dismissive, condescending, insensitive, tactless, and forever politically incorrect.
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Isn’t it nice that the city has dedicated workers that respond to this type of event. I remember when the 36 inch main broke on east Superior street. All the tunnels of the freeway flooded and froze.
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Mike, both you and I rolled in the mud and there was a lot of nice people too. Remember coffee and cookies at 2 in the morning working on a broken main?
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I remember a lady in the heights coming out with coffee and hot apple turnovers one 30 below night
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It was a love/hate relationship with the public.
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My dad worked for the waste water dept in GF. I know you people keep the city running and get little credit for it.
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It’s an honorable proffesion and everybody needs water and how to get rid of it.
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Things haven’t worked out the best for the city and not needing Public Works staff on holidays this winter. We had the several inches of snow on Thanksgiving afternoon and night and now the water main break. Much appreciation for the individuals who have these jobs knowing their holidays and other off time can be disrupted on a moment’s notice for all sorts of things.
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But here is the question. Why are we spending more money on indoor hockey rinks, aquariums, high speed rail and other amenities when the infrastructure is rotting beneath us?
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Because you don’t get elected on a platform of competent stewardship. Managing resources well and fixing things before they’re rotten and broken just isn’t sexy to the voters.
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Doug makes a valid point. Our elected officials get more press when a new building or bridge is opened. Not much is written about a sewer line being replaced or a street repaved. We spent millions back in the 80′s to pave the downtown in bricks but didn’t replace 100 year old water mains? Only in Duluth!
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You hit the nail on the head there. Imagine a 19th century, 124 year old water line, supplying the needs of city that likes to think of itself as a progressive 21st century city.
Rebuilding the streets in the 1980′s without replacing an almost 100 year old water line underneath sure doesn’t seem like a very prudent decision given that you’ve already got the street and much of the substructure tore up.
But as was stated….it’s not shiny or sexy and politicians aren’t likely to show up for a “ribbon cutting” ceremony for new water/sewer lines. We do indeed elect and deserve the political leaders we get. This isn’t just a jab at Ness though….this problem has been brewing on lines of this age for quite some time….through many, many local politicians careers. The ignoring problem started long ago….and will take many current and future administrations to fix it…..if it ever gets fixed before it literally implodes at some point in the future.
I don’t know….maybe I should fix the large crack in my basement wall before I put a new pool in the backyard and repave the driveway ?….but the kids really want a new pool !
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a bigger concern is the age of the pumps at the lakewood pump station, I believe they are 1930s pumps if -or when they fail there WILL be NO WATER being pumped and they will be expensive to fix, I can feel the revolver spin its chamber and being put against Duluth”s head
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Well, it could have been a major tragedy– IT could have broken in front of the “Last Place On Earth” and flooded that!!!!!
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Keep driving Semi’s and the DTA on them old streets just invites this type of problem, not to mention our garbage trucks. This will happen with new pipes with heavy traffic.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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no it will not the mains are down 7-8 feet I have never seen frost go that far down heavy traffic at the end of the winter will cause 4-5 deep frost which makes for ugly digging- go outside tomorrow and try to dig into the ground in your yard. Soil conditions are the biggest problem with the underground. Downtown is a fairly good area, this line being a medium size pipe is the problem tonight. I say mediun beacause pipe goes up to 48″ plus and when that goes this is mayor work involved but that doesn’t happen. very often , the big main broke 4-5 times durring my 33 plus years Cold doesn’t do it, it happens when there is temperatures changes and ground shifts. There are breaks all year they have more publicity during winter months beacause they “look” more impressive. Most of the time there will be a rock under the break that thru ground shift act as a fulcrum and crack the pipe. In many areas it is high acid soil that causes electolis holes or will actual disolve the bolts holding the pipe toghter. This one I would suspect has a pics blown outf or a split in the pipe caused by a surge in pressure. I recall one time it was a dead squireel that caused a blow out at the pump station which caused 5-6 breaks
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Now let’s see, frost goes 4-5 feet down, increases pressure on everything under it, ground moves because of heavy traffic above moving frost which moves soil under frost which moves pipes old or new. Guess what will happen.. Just like the tires on your Harley, you off round, you on flat.. Something is always moving with the force of weight.
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Lets see… 7-8 feet of frosty dirt at around 78lbs per cubic foot(that is conservative, as this is average soil weight, not crushed bedrock like we have) – Most buses are about 40 ft long and 9ft wide so 40x9x8 = 28800 Square Feet of earth @ 78LB = 224,640 or 112 Tons of dirt underneath the street above the main.
A fully loaded bus weighs in at just under 14 tons. So the bus weighs roughly 1/10th of the dirt that is already above the main.
I doubt that has much effect on the main.
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Figure all you like, but we do not drive one vehicle per day over said roadway. Ask the people that live close to I35 how the earth moves when the large vehicles go by. Just like the waves on a lake…
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A public garbage program would help mitigate this, Bob. Why have 3, 4, 5+ private fleets of garbage trucks all covering the same routes?
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Merv, as for a program I have no answer, but I can agree on garbage trucks. Formerly we had one company in the neighborhood, came once a week. The system opened up and then we had 4 different ones going down the unimproved alley driving on streets of course to get there. Garbage trucks are heavy and as day goes on get heavier. Presently we have two companies that come twice each the equivalent of 4 now with recycling.
We need garbage service, but these trucks do cause problems.
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Just a start of whats to come. Poor street conditions as well as whats under them. Here comes more taxes!
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Taxes/fees have been planned for years. Sat in meeting where conversation went if we raise property taxes citizens revolt, if we only raise rates and fees 5/6 percent they complain but get over it. This was about 6 years ago and rates /fees have climbed 5/6 percent each year. New commission Mayor has to take pressure off himself will be sure to raise all rates for years to come.
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Hopefully Duluth can get Midway Township annexed quickly so they can help pay for all of this new infrastructure downtown. The price tag is going to be a doozy!
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Water main break in downtown Duluth? Thanks Obama!!
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And 2 days later, downtown Minneapolis has a flood due to a 36 inch water main being ruptured by a construction worker.
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Always happens, fix pipe in one spot and a short distance away we spring another leak..
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It’s hard to fix things when every tax dollar goes to pay $100,000 a year pensions for retired librarians!
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The problem doesn’t lie solely with the city administrations.
A lot of it falls squarely on the shoulders of the Duluthians who, for at least 60 years that I’m personally aware of, have set off a huge outcry whenever the idea of making the necessary replacements AND paying for them has come up. Everyone wants it fixed, no one wants to pay for it.
Until and unless the residents of Duluth are willing to put on their big kid panties and actually, willingly PAY for what needs doing, the can will continue to be kicked.
I can remember a few commenters here getting their knickers in a twist over a $3 lighting fee. I don’t think I can even imagine the great wailing and gnashing of teeth that would follow the bill for replacing the majority of sewer & water lines.
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The complaining is tiring. Watch…the city will bond, vote or otherwise propose another indoor hockey rink. And the majority will go along with it, including Brad Bennett on Sound Off. Hockey is everything to a city with nothing but hard rubber hockey pucks for brains, meanwhile, storm and sanitary sewers and water mains take second or third priority behind hockey rinks, airport terminals and high-speed rail.
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Skidoolund, people who make comments like yours are masters at the blame game. Uh-oh! There’s a problem with something. Blame something else! And, ideally, make sure it’s something you don’t like! THAT is the type of complaining that’s tiring.
Also, Brad Bennett is a jerk.
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