Forbes Avenue from South Craig Street in North Oakland to Morewood Avenue in Squirrel Hill has been closed since a nearly 100-year-old, 20-inch water main broke on Feb. 27.
Friday, April 01, 2016
PWSA: Two lanes of Forbes reconstruction near completion after Feb. water main break
Forbes Avenue from South Craig Street in North Oakland to Morewood Avenue in Squirrel Hill has been closed since a nearly 100-year-old, 20-inch water main broke on Feb. 27.
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I am a little confused over this water-main construction situation. When the water main first broke, the University told students that they would have it fixed within a couple days, then within a week, and then stopped updating the student community while Forbes Avenue remained closed for weeks. Because foot traffic can still pass over the bridge, really the only problem this has created for students living on campus is the mix-up with the bus stops and the traffic that the busses now have to wait in. It is actually quite nice having Forbes closed, since the time needed to wait to cross the street has been reduced to almost zero. But I still wonder why this project took so much longer than reported. I understand that having to replace the road was an additional set-back, but wasn’t that part of the project realized within the first week? This incident is also very telling of our country’s infrastructure problems, and how many roads, bridges, and pipelines are very outdated with little plans to replace them.
I think it's kind of funny that in this article they said that they fixed the water main break way ahead of schedule when CMU students were originally told that it would be fixed in a matter of days. To be completely honest I actually really liked having Forbes closed. As I'm a freshman I don't have a car on campus so it wasn't an inconvenient in this way, but I can see why this would be frustrating for commuters. It was kind of nice to be able to cross Forbes whenever I wanted, especially when I was running late. In fact today I didn't see that the road had reopened and I almost got hit by a car, I guess I got a little too used to it. The one thing that was really frustrating, especially when it first broke, was the disruption of busing. Getting anywhere downtown always took longer because all the buses had to go up Morewood, and for a couple of days at the start it didn't even know where to get on. I'm happy that they were finally able to fix the problem, but overall there should have been much better communication from all parties.
Ok hear me out because I am 100% serious in this comment. You’ll notice Scott’s comment is that he is extremely over this whole situation, followed by Monica’s comment which opens by expressing confusion over the schedule of this “water break situation”.
The confusion is deliberate. When this pipe first broke it was supposed to be fixed in a few days. During those few days Carnegie Mellon was also being subpoenaed by the FBI for all of their information regarding the anonymous user of Tor that they obtained for the Department of Defense. Coincidence? I think not. Several times I walked past that road and nothing was happening at all. The facts do not add up and all I am saying is we need to pay closer attention to EVERYTHING. If you asked me, I think CMU’s campus now has plants in it, as in microphones listening in on us.
So, initially, I went through the article and found some quotes that were kind of funny considering the fact the road has been closed for weeks, and there will be construction for another two months while they finish repairs, but I think maybe a better way to look at this whole situation is from a “Shit Happens” standpoint. That is, when undertaking a large and complicated project such as building a new building, or putting on a large show, inevitably things are not always going to go as planned, and it’s important to be able to modify your plan so you can deal with the situation you have in front of you, not the situation you’d like to have. They got the job done, and I’m certain they didn’t expect to need to deal with a burst 20” water main, so you know, I’d rather not be able to use that bridge for a month than have no bridge to drive over ever.
I was absolutely astounded that the city of Pittsburgh not only elected to completely shut down part of such a main road, but accommodated it. As friends and I walked down the middle of Forbes one day, taking advantage of the lack of traffic, I could not help but be astonished by the apparent grace with which this rather heavily metropolitan area took the closure. Had this occurred in Northern Virginia, my home region, there would have been uproar, and VDOT would have likely faced widespread criticism if the repairs took longer than a few days. I am very glad traffic will be returning to normal, as trying to commute down into Pitt's campus by car in the mornings (as I had to do a couple time) took an astoundingly long time. To get from my apartment on Walnut street to the UPMC medical complex took up to 40 minutes some mornings. Though not completely reopened, this will definitely help alleviate the current traffic situation.
So, in an update from campus facilities, two lanes of Forbes Ave. re-opened yesterday. And in an update from my own health and sanity, I nearly got hit by a car blindly crossing the road which had previously been closed for two months. But being able to experience the beauty and ease which comes from seeing Forbes Ave. closed made me realize something. There should be a pedestrian bridge. There really should. Traffic on Forbes and Moorewood is always crazy at rush hours, which happens to be the same times that students are walking to class. The light takes forever, and I’ve seen so many people nearly get hit. I know that school can afford it, what with their ‘unavoidable’ tuition increase and $35 million gifts and $250 million dollar settlements. Having some kind of pedestrian bridge would make everyone’s live easier with less traffic and the ability to continuously sprint to your 8:30 that started 10 minutes ago. It’s a win-win.
Finally Forbes is open again. When it first closed because of the water main break I was complaining about the buses being off to upper class men and they said to just get used to it because it happens at the end of every winter. I thought this was incredibly strange that this is a reoccurring event because if a pipe bursts once and then again another year, maybe their should be a long term solution to fix it instead of tearing up the road and re building every year. Now Jasmine's comment is suggesting another theory which I have heard her say multiple times now, and it seeming more practical the more you look at it. I find it strange that the article doesn't mention anything about the cost of this reconstruction, because I walked past there twice a week and a lot happened, which was probably pricey, so maybe the city wasn't paying for it and Jasmine is right that their is alterer motives to the construction.
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