By Tracy Overstreet
tracy.overstreet@theindependent.com

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Independent/Barrett Stinson Workers have discovered that Second Street is thicker than they previously thought. All of the road is being removed which includes several layers of asphalt, followed by brick, sand, and concrete. Removal of the entire road west of Broadwell Ave. is to be completed by today with work then moving east from Broadwell. Independent/Barrett Stinson A cross section of Second Street shows the road has three layers of asphalt on top of a 4-inch-thick concrete base that was topped with sand and a row of paver bricks. Click Thumbnails to View

"We were expecting it not to be as thick as it is," said Ben Merchant, a construction technician/inspector for the Nebraska Department of Roads.

The paving has ranged from 1 1/2 to 2 feet thick in areas where 1 foot would have been more typical, he said.

A cross section of Second Street just west of the Broadwell Avenue intersection showed the road had three layers of asphalt on top of a 4-inch-thick concrete base that was topped with sand and a row of paver bricks.

"It used to be a brick highway," Merchant said.

The multiple layers of asphalt are part of what caused drainage problems on the roadway.

"The asphalt had kind of filled in the curbs," Merchant said.

Besides the new widened, concrete roadway, drainage outlets are being tripled in number and enlarged in capacity, road officials have stated.

Once the pavement is removed, trenching work will begin at depths ranging from 5 to 9 feet in order to install a new 10-inch water main, Project Manager Scott Griepenstroh said.

A backhoe removing the pavement worked this week west of Broadwell. The backhoe is expected to move to the east side of Broadwell on Thursday.