The psychedelic, flower-patterned crosswalks fronting the historic DeKalb courthouse are getting rebuilt this week after prematurely fracturing. The crosswalks span both sides of the intersection at Ponce de Leon Avenue and the north side at Clairemont Avenue.
Work is scheduled to start Tuesday April 14 and take three days, lasting 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Streets will remain open to traffic with rotating single lane closures, although area traffic has been extremely light during the pandemic.
This is one of seven multi-colored crosswalks (each with different designs) the city installed in 2016. They each have a thermoplastic covering layered over a raised concrete table. As Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon explained, the thermoplastic layer with the design comes in series of sheets that get melted and hand-fitted over the concrete.
For whatever reason the Ponce/Clairemont thermoplastic layer didn’t bond to the concrete and had been breaking up before finally getting removed entirely. Since it’s still under warranty, the replacement work comes at no cost to the city. The crosswalk’s lifespan is an anticipated 10 to 12 years.
Much of Decatur’s infrastructure work has grinded to a halt during the COVID-19 outbreak. But Saxon said that installation of the artificial turf on the courthouse square east of the bandstand should begin in two to three weeks.
Meantime work has continued on the final phase of the Commerce Drive Cycle Track at West Trinity Place, a total one-year project that is very close to wrapping, Saxon said.
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