In 1980 the Village of Downers Grove, a residential community with a population of 42,000 located 30 miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois, undertook a study to explore the possibility of preserving and/or restoring existing brick streets. This study was prompted by a number of requests from residents who asked the Village to preserve the remaining brick streets that have not been overlayed with asphalt because of excessive deterioration or reconstructed to handle increased traffic volume.

A few residents whose properties abut an existing brick street expressed a willingness to replace deteriorated bricks if the Village would furnish replacement bricks. Bricks were furnished and the Village barricaded a one block area over the weekend to protect the residents during restoration. Their efforts proved futile. The bricks were lodged tightly in place and could not be removed with pry bars. Some bricks were removed in pieces with coal chisels and hammers. As the brick was removed the existing brick pavement expanded into the open area making it virtually impossible to install a new brick. After an 8 hour period of hard work, with little accomplished, the neighborhood project was abandoned.

The interest of many residents and the efforts of a few residents to preserve our brick streets increased the Village's desire to consider restoration of the limited number of remaining brick streets. The staff of the Village was assigned the task of

1. identifying the locations where brick streets now exist,
2. determining the condition of brick streets,
3. establishing if the brick streets or the adjacent areas had any historical significance,
4. estimating the cost of restoration,
5. estimating the cost of maintaining the street once it was restored, and
6. comparing the cost of restoration and maintenance with the cost of overlaying the street with asphalt and maintenance of the asphalt pavement.

The studies found that 16 adjoining blocks of brick streets existed in an area immediately northwest of the central business district of the Village. These streets were constructed in 1906 at a cost of $1.47 per square

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yard. The bricks were placed over a 1" layer of sand on a 6" to 10" thick compacted fine graded stone base. The existing 6" high concrete curb with a 12" gutter was constructed as part of this improvement. A detailed condition survey of each block was made to determine the volume of work that would be required to restore the brick pavement and an estimated cost to repair each block was prepared.

The Downers Grove Historical Society was asked to study the area where brick streets existed to determine if there was any historical significance in the area. Their study found that 64 homes more than 75 to 100 years old existed adjacent to these streets. These homes were plotted on aerial photos to determine the number of historical homes that existed adjacent to each block containing brick streets.

An evaluation of the above information was made and the Village found that six contiguous blocks contained the greatest number of homes that had significant historical value and the restoration cost was less than the other 10 blocks due to minimal deterioration. This information was forwarded to the Village Council along with the estimated cost of restoration.

The Village elected to proceed with the restoration of the six blocks because of their historical significance and minimal restoration requirements. The Village assumed that the residents abutting the remaining 10 blocks of brick streets would wish to have their streets restored, however, the excessive cost of restoration would diminish the limited amount of funds available to maintain the remaining streets in the Village. In anticipation of a request of this type the Village is presently looking at optional methods of financing further brick street restoration projects including partial funding by abutting property owners benefiting from the improvement, donations from civic organizations, etc.

In addition, one of the major factors that prompted the Village to limit the amount of brick street restoration was the excessive cost to replace a portion of a restored brick street when repairing, replacing, or installing utilities located under the pavement. These excessive costs would not only be incurred by the owners of the utility but also by the property owners whose sanitary sewer service extends under the pavement.

A number of communities and contractors who had previously completed brick street restoration were contacted to obtain information on their experiences in this area including the method of base repair, the cost of restoration, etc. The information received suggested that whenever brick pavement is removed the existing stone base should be replaced with a 4" thick concrete base with a 3" sand cushion between the new concrete base and the brick. The cost for the new concrete base, sand cushion, and brick replacement was estimated at $17 per square foot based on contract prices received by other communities and estimates submitted by contractors.

A supplemental price for individual deteriorated brick replacement was included in the contract to establish a cost for this item; an estimated cost of $10 each

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was established as a reasonable price for this labor intense item of work. In addition, a supplemental unit price per square yard for filling the space between the bricks was also included in the contract.

Nine contractors submitted bids on the project. Bid prices received for brick removal and replacement, including concrete base, ranged from $7.69 per square foot to $17 per square foot, from $6.75 to $8.00 for individual brick replacement, and from $0.49 to $2.20 per square yard for sand filler. The Village awarded the contract to L.P.S. Pavement Company of West Chicago, Illinois, for $51,203.31 or 40% below the Engineer's estimate.

As work progressed on the restoration project we realized that a concrete base under the new brick may result in differential movement between the existing remaining brick and the newly patched area, therefore we deleted the concrete base and installed a compacted stone base consisting of CA-6 aggregate with a 1" sand cushion similar to the existing base. The new bricks were placed 1/4" above the existing adjoining brick and then tamped or vibrated into the sand base. The square yards of brick removal and replacement was increased by 34% to eliminate a number of irregularities in the pavement surface that did not appear to be necessary when the project was designed.

The Village elected not to proceed with replacement of individual deteriorated bricks as the cost would be excessive for the benefit received, i.e., improved surface appearance and riding quality.

In conjunction with this restoration project the Village let a separate contract for replacement of the existing deteriorated 6" high concrete curbs adjacent to the entire brick pavement. The cost of curb replacement surprisingly was no greater than curb replacement adjacent to a concrete or asphalt pavement and the existing brick pavement immediately adjacent to the curb remained intact during the curb removal operation.

After the restoration project was completed the Village reviewed the program and concluded that

1. restoration of brick pavement costs approximately four to five times the cost of patching deteriorated brick pavement with full depth asphalt and overlay of tlie brick surface with asphalt.

2. brick street restoration should generally be considered only if it can be shown that the area has a significant historical value and restoration costs are not excessive.

3. the base material immediately under the old brick surface should not be replaced if it is in good condition. If the base material has settled similar material should be installed and compacted to bring the base to the proper grade.

4. individual brick replacement improves the appearance and riding quality of the pavement, however, the cost is excessive for the benefit received.

5. special care must be taken when determining the brick surface areas that require replacement to eliminate excessive cost overruns.

6. curb and gutter abutting brick pavement can be removed and replaced without major disruption to the brick pavement and at the same cost as curb and gutter removal abutting other types of pavement surfaces.

7. replacement bricks with the same color and texture are available in northeastern Illinois eliminating the need to remove pavement bricks on one street to restore another brick street.

8. the cost of maintenance of a restored brick street is about the same as maintenance of an asphalt street over a 20 year period.

9. the cost to repair a restored brick street surface, required when a utility is repaired or replaced under the pavement, is 6 to 10 times more expensive than repair to an asphalt or concrete street.

10. only those brick streets with low traffic volume should be considered for restoration as the brick surface has a tendency to become quite slippery when rain or snow begins to fall.

Based on these conclusions a community may find it very desirable to restore a limited number of brick streets to retain a community's heritage. Brick street restoration beyond this social goal does not appear to be cost beneficial to the community.

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