Ludlow Project Information

The City will continue to update this page with information that pertains to the 2018-19 Ludlow Avenue Project.  However, if any resident has an issue that you feel needs to or hasn't been addressed, please email nbanda@rochestermi.org and Deputy City Manager Nik Banda will assist you with your concern(s) and/or issue(s).

Weekly updates will be posted to this web page. (See below.)  Residents are encouraged to signup through the City's NotifyMe program, for specific Ludlow email notifications.  Residents that have provided the City with their email address(s) will be automatically added.  Besides web posts and email notifications, if the contractor, inspector, or City anticipates construction that will impact a residents driveway, a bright tag will be placed either on your door or at your mailbox, advising of the date of the expected impact.  Finally, major informational items will be shared via the multiple modes of communication.

WEEKLY NOTIFICATIONS:  (Newest Items @ the top.)

01/07/2019:  Happy New Year!  Winter is here, but we realize the project still has a few outstanding items.  The City has created a list of open items and DiPonio’s subcontractors will return in the late winter early spring, depending on temperatures and material availability, to perform the remaining work.  Tranquility Springs Landscaping is scheduled to place the reminder of topsoil by the bridge and sodding the open areas in late March or early April, along with planting a few additional trees.  PK Contracting is scheduled to be onsite in mid-April to place the final pavement markings, wrapping up the currently known open items.  This will be the last update for a while, but this page along with an email will be sent once we expect to start work again in 2019.

11/26/2018:  DiPonio is taking deliveries for the bore work that will take place next week just south of the bridge on the east side of Ludlow.  The landscaper will be in on Wednesday to place topsoil in the remaining areas other than the proposed bore location.  The guardrail will be installed in the alley on Thursday.  Joint sealing will take place on the drives, ramps and adjustments on Thursday.  DiPonio will begin the fusion and digging the bore pits Monday, December 3rd and will occupy that location for most of next week which will require a lane closure at Ironwood to Woodward while working.

11/21/2018:  Today the contractor installed temporary striping along the center lane of Ludlow.  An additional white stripe has also been painted along the west side of the roadway to give the perception of narrower lanes.  We will be pilot testing this as a potential traffic calming measure throughout the winter.  In the spring the temporary striping will be removed and the permanent markings will be applied.  

The contractor anticipates opening the road to traffic by the end of the day today (11/21/18).  Please keep in mind that rolling closures may occur along the roadway to protect workers that are continuing restoration work.  Sod placement has been suspended at this time, but may commence if temperatures support its installation. 

Additionally, the contractor will be completing the water main crossing under the Paint Creek during the week of December 3rd (weather permitting).  This will involve lane closures north of Ironwood. 

11/16/2018:  Today (Friday) crews are off due to weather.  The City is also aware that the Festival of Trees is this weekend at the Community House, but due to ongoing construction work, Ludlow will remain closed at University.  Residents/Guests are being directed from Rochester Road to Woodward, then onto Ludlow and into to the Community House. 

Our DPW crews will be out on Monday (11/19) picking up leaves.  If you haven’t bagged your leaves for pickup, please push your leaves to the street for collection on Monday.  Thank you in advance for your help. 

Next week, we expect the following work to be done, subject to the weather:   

• Monday - Guardrail on Ludlow Alley 

• Monday and Tuesday - Sidewalks and Driveways completed  

• Monday - Street Signs will be placed 

• Wednesday - Striping of lanes on pavements 

• Wednesday – Sod will be placed 

The City also anticipates removing the closure at University/Ludlow by the end of the day on Wednesday, November 21st. The closure will then be moved north of Ironwood and the Paint Creek Bridge.  Residents in the apartments will still have access.  Installation of the water main under the Paint Creek is scheduled for December 3rd.

11/05/2018:  We tentatively anticipate finishing the placement of the joint sealer on Wednesday with final paving to commence on Thursday and Friday.  This schedule may be pulled ahead if weather and scheduling allow.  Once the final lift of pavement is placed, the contractor will come in and begin the final grading work in the greenbelt areas and start the pavement adjustments. Additionally, once the pavement work is completed, the concrete contractor will be back onsite to complete the concrete work including the placement of concrete collars around the structures that were constructed within the roadway.  H2O Irrigation will begin making repairs to irrigation systems and Tranquility will follow-up with the tree installation and placing the topsoil. 

As for requests about leaves, please do NOT put leaves into the road yet!  Doing so delays the paving portion of the project.  If residents or your contractor has bagged your leaves, those bags can be placed out on your curb for pickup up as yard waste.  Otherwise, we are hoping the road work will be completed by Friday or Saturday, and once done I will send out an email asking residents to place your leaves into the street for pickup.  I am truly hoping to coordinate this year’s leaf collection, so that the restoration work can be done easier. 

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we near completion!!

11/02/2018:  Paving activities have begun and are currently scheduled to occur throughout this weekend.  It is imperative that ALL vehicles are off of the roadway no later than 7:00 am each morning (including Saturday and Sunday) of this weekend.  The tack coat needs to be applied to the curb prior to the paving activities.  This is to assure that the pavement properly adheres to the curb.  We are working with the asphalt plants and battling the weather to ensure that the full pavement depth get placed this year.  Delays could hamper this effort, so everyone’s assistance is greatly appreciated!

After 7:00pm tonight, vehicles and people can drive on the new asphalt.  However, please note that there will be a 2” lip up to driveways for the next few days, until the topcoat is applied (expected this upcoming Tuesday).  Again, ALL VEHICLES must be off the street between 7:00AM through 7:00PM in order for construction work to be performed!Have a nice weekend and thank you for your understanding as the paving work begins!  (FYI:  Restoration work is still scheduled for mid-November, which will continue to have Ludlow traffic restricted, so that workers are safe even though the road will be paved.)

10/31/2018:  Click here for the map that I noted on Monday.  It contains caution notes and shows areas where the sidewalk is ramped, closed, or unwalkable (very small section).  Please note these areas when you and your children are out this evening.  Please be aware of various hazards and use caution and flashlights while trick-or-treating. 

Due to the weather and wet conditions, there was no paving today and looking at the weather reports, the conditions won’t improve until Friday.  As such, paving is currently planned for Friday through Monday.  During the weekend, work will begin at 7:30am and will conclude at 7:00pm.  This is necessary as the temperature and weather have continued to make work and paving difficult and/or not possible. I thank everyone for your continued understanding and have a fun and safe Halloween! 

DiPonio is placing concrete sidewalks and ramps on Monday (10/29) and Tuesday (10/30).  Then on Wednesday (10/31) paving activities are scheduled to begin (weather permitting).  The contractor is aware that work on Halloween needs to be wrapped up by 5:00 pm to allow residents and guests to park on the street near their homes.  The paving activities are tentatively scheduled to continue through Saturday.  This will all be weather permitting.  If a day is rained out, the paving contractor will continue work on the next available day.  DiPonio will be grading greenbelts until Wednesday and prepping walk areas for the Halloween foot traffic.  

The hope was to have all of the driveways and sidewalk complete for Halloween, but weather conditions have pushed back some of the concrete activities.  The City will be closely monitoring progress throughout the day tomorrow.  Safety cones and caution tape will be placed in areas where sidewalk gaps may exist on Wednesday.  Please advise all visitors to access the area from 7th street, Ironwood/Woodward as the road will remain closed at University.  Additional barricades will be placed south of the Community House driveway leaving only one lane for traffic (similar to the closure posted during the Art and Apples Festival). 

The City is working on preparing a map that can be sent to all Ludlow residents on Wednesday (10/31) identifying areas where sidewalk gaps will exist during the trick-or-treat festivities.  Additionally, a Rochester Police Officer will be officer assigned to the area, assuming call volumes permit availability.  

10/26/2018: DiPonio is approved to work tomorrow (Saturday) from 7:30am until 5:00pm.  Depending on the weather, the operations will include grading sidewalks and driveways, and maybe pouring sidewalk and driveways.  Paving is scheduled to occur early next week, but that is dependent on the weather.  The forecast is calling for rain on Saturday, which may hinder construction progress.  

On Halloween (10/31), the contractor intends to spend the day performing minimal construction work, inspecting, and cleaning up the area to ensure safe travel for our trick-or-treaters.  The plan is to have construction activity completed by 5:00pm and the area for available for Ludlow residents and their guests to be able to park on the street near their homes.
The hard closure at University will be maintained to reduce the cut-through traffic, with the goal to have at least partial pavement laid before Halloween.  Access for residents and their families should come from 7th Street, Ironwood and Woodward.   

Additional updates next week, as we get closer to Halloween and we have a better idea of how construction is progressing. 

10/24/2018:  Information on how Halloween will be handled during this construction project will be posted and sent on October 26th.
 
10/23/2018:  To help with this week’s garbage and recycling pick-up, the City is asking homeowners to position their garbage and recycling containers behind the curb on Thursday morning, if you DO NOT have a sidewalk or a driveway poured in front of your home yet. For homeowners that DO have new walks or drives, please position your garbage and recycling containers behind the new walk on your private driveway and DiPonio will carry it over to the curb, so the garbage and recycling truck can pick it up.   

10/19/2018:  Saturday (10/20/18) work from 7:30am until 5:00pm has been approved. Weather permitting DiPonio and their sub-contractors will be working on grading the road, grading drives and walks and potentially pouring concrete drives and walks.
10/11/2018:  Due to recent rains and colder weather, the sub-contractor schedule has been delayed and the concrete curb and gutter paving schedule is moving to Monday, October 15th (weather permitting).  Therefore we ask that residents move your vehicles from your driveways by 7:00am on Monday, October 15th.  The estimated time where vehicles should not use driveways ranges from 2 ½ - 3 weeks. This is necessary to allow sufficient time for the concrete curb, drives, and walks to gain strength. The City will have the testing engineer take additional samples of the concrete to check on its strength and when it has achieved the design strength we will let everyone know. Again, due to the weather, NO work will occur this upcoming Saturday, October 13th.

10/10/2018:  Please be aware that the Paving Operations, for Ludlow Avenue will start this Friday October 12th, weather permitting. We appreciate the patience each homeowner has exhibited and are hopeful that you will continue to support the City’s contractor in an effort to provide a quality project. As discussed at the Public Informational meetings, the paving operations will limit access to driveways and sidewalks.  Unfortunately, this will be disruptive and inconvenient to each property owner and the paving and related work will involve multiple crews for various aspects of the work. The contractor is coordinating his crews and the work to complete and provide access to the home owners as expeditiously as possible. The following is an anticipated timeline for each phase of the work: 

Friday October 12th – Monday October 15th - Concrete Curb and Gutter - The contractor will install along Ludlow Avenue from University Street to Paint Creek Bridge.  (I have authorized special Saturday construction hours on October 13th from 7:00am until 5:00pm, in order to minimize the impact on residents.)
October 13th – October 22th – Sidewalks and Driveways Construction – As mentioned multiple crews will be working with sidewalks and driveways and grading immediately after the curb and gutters are placed. It is anticipated that concrete pours for sidewalks and driveways will begin on October 17th.  

October 13th – October 22nd – Road Base Material Placed and Graded – The Contractor will have another crew to place the road base (21AA Limestone). This crew will spread and grade the road as designed. 

October 22nd – October 26th – Asphalt Paving of Ludlow – It is anticipated that the contractor will start the asphalt paving for the project on the week of October 22nd. Once the work starts it will take about 3-full days to complete. 

If the concrete work is not complete by the 22nd the contractor will be back to finalize the installation of the sidewalks and driveways after the road is paved. 

 Access to Homes –  Vehicles CAN be parked along Ludlow Avenue, outside the contractor’s working hours, from 7:00pm to 7:00am.  For vehicles parked along the Ludlow Avenue, extra caution will be necessary. Your vehicle should be parked a minimum of 3-feet from the newly installed curb, to avoid the possibility of hitting the new curb with car doors.  Additional parking is also provided at the front parking lot area of the Community House and the parking lot at the west end of 7th Street.  

 Protection of New Concrete Pavement – Protection of the concrete and allowing it to gain design strength is critical. Please note during the curing process for the concrete curb and gutter work, the residents WILL NOT have access to their driveways.  

 *Please do not walk on the concrete for at least 24-hours after the work is completed. If you parked next to newly poured concrete and you cannot avoid the wet concrete please choose different routes to get to your home, even if it requires walking on grass. 

 *Please DO NOT drive on new concrete until it’s cured. This is due to the fact that both the concrete curbs & gutters and the driveways and sidewalks must gain adequate strength to support the weight of an automobile. 

 *Please be aware of the newly poured concrete, do not walk on it, do not write or draw figures on it. (I know there may be the urge to do this, but it hurts the integrity of the concrete.) 

 *The City’s testing engineer will make concrete cylinders for testing of strength of concrete. It will typically take 7-days before the concrete can take vehicular loading. 

 *The contractor will advise you when you will be able to walk or drive on the newly installed concrete sidewalks, curbs and driveways.  (The City will continue to communicate as well.) 

 Sprinkler System Restoration – Please note the restoration of the sprinkler system and sod restoration will occur on the week of November 5th, weather permitting. (EDITED)  Please winterize ASAP.  Colder weather is coming!

Please note that the paving schedule may change based on weather conditions or due to any unexpected conflicts and/or delays the contractor may encounter. 

Finally, THANK YOU!!  The City, our contractors, and engineers are doing our best to minimize the inconvenience to residents and the Community House in order to have a quality project completed in timely manner. We do realize there have been and will be inconveniences, but we truly appreciate your patience and cooperation. 

10/4/2018:  Please be advised that DiPonio will be working at the intersection of Ludlow and Ironwood on Thursday October 4th and Friday October 5th. Residents accessing the roadway should access from 7th Street. People needing to access the Community House should also come in from 7th Street.
09/28/2018:  Tomorrow (9/29/18), from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. DiPonio will be installing the edge drain on Ludlow.  I have authorized this work due to the recent weather and to help ensure the project stays on schedule. Additionally, earlier this week the City was able to meet with DiPonio and the U.S. Postal Service to evaluate options for the continued delivery of mail on Ludlow. DiPonio will continue working with the U.S. Postal Service to provide a walking area where the sidewalks used to be so that the carrier(s) can make their deliveries.  Since Monday afternoon residents should have had postal service restored; however, if residents experience future issues related to mail delivery, please contact me and we will quickly address the issue(s), as we have contingencies ready. 

Thank you for your continued patience as we move from the underground utility work into the road construction phase of the project.  As before, please feel free to forward this email along and encourage your neighbors to visit this, the Ludlow Project’s web page, for weekly updates.  

Today (9/20/18) access to the Community House can be accessed from University only as DiPonio is installing the Ludlow storm sewer pipe crossing between Ironwood and the bridge this morning and then will be performing all the storm sewer pipe at the intersection of Ironwood for the remainder of the day.  Basically, the area north of Ironwood to the bridge will have a lot of activity today.  Where the grading crews are working, in the area of 7th Street to the north a few hundred feet, only grading stone is being placed, so there should be minimal stoppages to the residents and Community House guests.   

Tomorrow (9/21/18) there will be access, weather permitting, from University to the bridge along with Ironwood being open.  The pipe crew will only be doing removals on the existing watermain, flow filling the line and general pipe cleanup.   

Monday (9/24/18) the grading crew will pick up where they left off and continue earth excavation north of 7th Street to the Community House entrance.  Traffic should be diverted to come in Monday and partially Tuesday from Woodward or Ironwood. 

Potentially late Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday the grading crew should be north of the Community House entrance, so traffic should be diverted to come in from University. 

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as the City works diligently to try to minimize disruption to residents and Community House visitors.  I realize there are some significant inconveniences, but please continue to communicate with the City. 

DiPonio will be wrapping up all the storm sewer this week and potentially starting some of the edge drain as the road crew is now onsite.  DiPonio's road crew will be performing the remaining removals of sidewalks and driveways between 7th Street and University on 9/17/18 and will then start earth excavation in that area.  Once this area is protected with stone, the crew will continue in the same manner north of 7th street.  Please keep in mind that DiPonio is still maintaining the road and driveways during this operation, so residents will have access.  This should be ongoing during the week baring any potential rain days that appear to be showing up on the extended forecast.

The City has received concerns from residents regarding the total closure during the Art & Apples festival.  As a result, the closure has been modified as follows: 

• University and Ludlow - hard closure with no entry in or out of Ludlow. 

• Ludlow and Seventh - hard closure with no entry in or out of Ludlow. 

• Ludlow south of the entrance to Community House - soft closure open to residents on Ludlow only with a no left turn sign placed at the exit from the Community House. 

Parking assignments are updated as follows: 

As the contractor will not be working Friday, Saturday or Sunday the city is requesting that all Ludlow residents utilize their driveways to park for the duration of the Art & Apples Festival.  As the contractor will be back on site early Monday morning, reserved parking in the Community House parking lot will be restored after completion of the Art & Apples festival Sunday evening. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as the city works diligently to try to minimize cut through traffic on Ludlow during this large festival.

09/05/18:  DiPonio will start converting water services from the old main to the new main. This work will take them into the week of September 10th when they will also begin working on the storm sewer run from Ironwood to the bridge.   No work will occur on Friday (9/7) due to the Art & Apples Festival.   

In an attempt to minimize the cut-through traffic on Ludlow during the Art & Apples Festival, the City will be working to place complete closures at University, Seventh, and just South of the Community House Entrance.  Barricades will need to be moved by residents in order to enter and exit the area.  As such, we recommend that residents enter and exit primarily through Seventh Street, so as not to block traffic on University or near the Community House while moving the barricades back in place to continue the complete road closure.  While we understand that the movement of barricades may cause frustration, it should significantly reduce the ability for visitors to the Festival to utilize this area as a cut through to the Community House. 

We greatly appreciate your assistance in keeping the complete closure in place from Thursday evening September 6th through Sunday September 9th!  

08/20/18:  For the week of August 20th, DiPonio will be continuing to install the water main from roughly 750 Ludlow to the proposed bore pit near the paint creek.  Once completed with installing the main, DiPonio will be installing storm sewer while waiting for test results of the water main.  Once we have a good result we will stop installing storm and jump right on connections and services of the new water main. 

08/13/18:  DiPonio is starting the water main installation at University and heading north to the park.  This will take the week to install.  Once the main is tested, they will begin the installation of the storm sewer.  Also, there have been some questions about sprinkler lines.  The City is talking with our inspector and Diponio and will be posting an updated tomorrow.

08/09/18:  Diponio Contracting will be working on Ludlow Avenue from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, 2018.  The contractor will be removing the concrete sidewalk and drive approaches on the east side of the street.  This is being done in preparation for the start of the water main construction during the week of August 13th.   Access to driveways may be restricted for short periods, as the contractor is removing the concrete, which will then be restored for access throughout the rest of the weekend with a temporary sand or gravel base.  
08/08/18:  DiPonio is continuing the installation of the mainline sanitary sewer starting in the proximity of 718 Ludlow and working south toward the intersection of Seventh Street.  The mainline sewer is expected to be complete by the end of the day on August 7th.  From there the contractor will go back to the vicinity of 718 Ludlow and start converting the sewer leads from the old main to the newly completed main, again working in a southerly direction until they reach the intersection of Seventh Street. During excavation activities a few inconsistencies were found and additional work may be required to separate some shared water or sewer services and this may cause the schedule to slide to a little later in the week or early next week. Depending on weather conditions, the contractor expects to have the sewer leads converted by Thursday and will then begin working on upgrading any existing non-aligned or 4” sewer services located between Seventh Street and University. This item of work could also slide into next week as the weather service is calling for rain almost all day on Wednesday.   

The Contractor expects to begin work on the water main construction the week of August 13th. 

07/31/18:  The contractor continued working on the north end of the sanitary sewer mainline construction today. The pipe eventually crosses diagonally across the intersection of Ironwood and Ludlow.  While they are doing this work, the Ironwood side of the intersection will need to be closed  to traffic.  As a result traffic on Ironwood will not have access to Ludlow.  However, the Contractor feels that he can maintain access to the residences and the Community House from both directions (Woodward & University) on Ludlow.  Once they complete the main line construction, to the Ludlow Apartments and start to transfer the leads from the old pipe to the new, the intersection will be able to open back up.  It should only be closed for 1-2 days depending on weather. Additionally, in an effort to further reduce the cut-through traffic from University, the Contractor will be adding additional barricades at the entrance to University to stop cars from being able to enter or exit from that location.  For all residents on Ludlow and Seventh Street, please use Seventh Street to Wilcox as your exit and entrance point for your homes.  When possible, all traffic entering and exiting the Community House will be directed to follow the route along Woodward or Ironwood (once this area can be reopened to traffic).  This hard closure should help minimize the traffic further which, in turn, will assist with keeping the construction dust down.   

We appreciate your continued support and patience during the construction of this project!

07/30/18:  Ludlow Construction Schedule from 7/30/18 through 8/12/18.  Start point for this week is 761/762 Ludlow. The contractor is continuing to install the main line sanitary sewer moving north to the upper end located on the NW corner of Ludlow & Ironwood.  This portion of the work should be completed by late Tuesday or early Wednesday, weather permitting. Once this section of main line sewer is complete, the contractor will begin working south to transfer the sewer services to the newly installed main line sewer.  This will cover homes with addresses from #724 Ludlow and higher. After the leads are installed, DiPonio will begin on the second run of sanitary, which runs south out of the manhole located in front of 724/727 Ludlow.  The contractor will keep the same order of operation, installing the main line sewer first and then transferring the sewer services on the return trip. This may carry slightly over into next week, especially looking at this week’s weather reports.  

07/25/18:  Good afternoon.  The City of Rochester is aware that trash services will occur tomorrow, Thursday, July 26, 2018.  Please place your trash and recycling carts at the curb prior to 7:00am for standard pick-up services.  GFL will be working throughout the day to service the carts during construction activities.  Please write your address (### Ludlow) on the carts and/or cans using permanent marker, so that GFL can then ensure they are placed back at the correct address. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Created:  June 25, 2018