Vegetation encroaching onto streets and sidewalks is becoming a major problem in Bellingham. City ordinances state that the abutting property owner is responsible for maintaining all vegetation up to the improved right-of-way, i.e. street. Many citizens do not maintain this vegetation until they receive abatement letters from the city. As the vegetation encroaches onto streets, sidewalks or traffic signing, citizens call in with complaints. A Customer Service Report is generated and a person inspects the area of the complaint. This inspection usually generates an abatement letter to the adjacent property owner requesting that the offending vegetation be either removed or trimmed.
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The Federal government mandates that bridges are inspected every two years. This is accomplished by contracting with private bridge inspection engineers. Repair lists are generated from that inspection report. Minor repairs are made by city forces and major repairs are contracted out to private enterprise.
Grading of gravel alleys and streets is done by private enterprise. We contract yearly for the use of a grader and operator. One truck and operator accompanies the grader to haul gravel if needed and inspect the finished work.
Maintenance consists of cleaning vegetation from around guardrails so they are readily visible and repairing/replacing guardrails that have been damaged. City forces install short sections of guardrail while larger jobs are contracted out to private enterprise.
Shoulders are to provide a smooth transition from the paved roadway to surrounding native land. Periodically, a dirt berm builds up at the edge of the roadway which prevents water from getting into the ditches. This berm must be removed to ensure adequate drainage. The City also takes care of graveling and removing brush from the shoulders, where appropriate. Shoulders are maintained out to four feet from the edge of the street.
All work is done by private contractor except for the initial survey and final inspection. Sidewalks are rated every 3 to 5 years, and repair priorities are based on those ratings.
Snow and ice control is accomplished by spreading a salt/sand mixture on the roadway or plowing when warranted. Priority streets are arterials and bus routes. Residential streets will be sanded as time and conditions permit. During snow events, crews man the equipment 24 hours a day.
Street repairs fall into two classes, asphalt repairs and concrete
repairs. For asphalt repairs, the pavement is removed and the subgrade is
inspected. If the subgrade is deficient, it is removed and replaced with
acceptable material. Our asphalt contractor then moves in and replaces the
pavement.
Crack sealing is accomplished solely with the use of contractors with city
crews doing the final inspection. Filling potholes in streets and alleys is
done with city personnel.
For concrete repairs, all work is done by private contractor except the initial survey and the final inspection. A rating system is used for streets which dictate where the repair money will be spent.
