Another historic Bloomington brick street will soon be overlaid with asphalt.
Brick streets were once so common in Bloomington it was rumored to be home to the first such driving surfaces in the nation. While that's not true, it illustrates the city's long love affair with paving bricks. Public Works Director Jim Karch said he is a fan of brick streets, and saw positive impact from brick streets in Rock Island. He says eventually he'd like to see some of Bloomington's brick streets return.
"Because it has such historical significance that whenever opportunity and funding was available you actually go back and put back brick whenever you could," said Karch.
Karch says the residents on West Chestnut at Mason, where some bricks are being torn up, want pavement instead of pavers. He says the public works department developed a strategic plan for brick streets, and it's available on the city website. The plan, created in 2009, was never approved by the Bloomington city council.
