GAINESVILLE - While it’s not quite an archaeological dig, it is a quest into the past that probes what lies underground.
Gainesville Public Works Director David Dockery told City Council that part of his 2016 budget proposal and plan would include a forensic study of Green Street, in particular the portion of the historic roadway between the Academy Street split and the Civic Center.
Despite its arbor-like beauty, it is a traffic headache and a drainage nightmare.
Navigating the narrow four-lane road during a rainstorm will test the steadiest hand and quicken the pulse of driver and passenger alike for nearly three-quarters of a mile.
Solutions are debated, studies are conducted and conclusions are not reached; but something needs to be done.
Dockery said that while the above-ground remedies are being considered, his department hopes to look at problems beneath the roadway.
“We would hire an engineering consultant…to help us and the Department of Transportation (Green Street is a state controlled highway)…have a really good knowledge base…of what’s in the ground there,” Dockery said.
“It’s critical that we know what’s in the ground there,” Dockery added. “There’s infrastructure in the ground there that’s at least a hundred years old in some places.”
“We really need to do this forensic analysis before we move forward with any kind of surface work.”
Dockery predicts that the survey would start in about three months and last for about a year.
He did add that he foresees no significant effect on traffic while the forensic study is underway since cameras and x-ray technology will provide much of the data.
“What are some of the innovative ideas…with which we can deal with the traffic issue we have on Green Street, the spatial issues, the historic issues?” he asked rhetorically.
City Manager Kip Padgett said it was vital to know what is in the ground before any construction work began above ground.
“When you go in and start tearing up Green Street there’s going to be traffic issues. (So) you want to tell all of the utility companies, ‘Alright, we’re opening it up…fix whatever you need to…and then you’re done with it.’,” Padgett said.
