Berkley City Wide Sidewalk Replacement Program

The replacement of both private sidewalk slabs (whether they are the result of tree root disturbance or not) and City-owned slabs within the southwest section of the City bordered by Greenfield and Coolidge to the west and east, respectively, and 11 Mile Road and Catalpa to the south and north, respectively. (See map below).

At the request of the City, HRC conducted a walking sidewalk inspection survey and condition evaluation of the southwest section of the City and found one (1) or more existing concrete sidewalk slabs in front of your property to be a potential immediate safety concern which will require replacement. “Immediate” constitutes a sidewalk slab that exhibits at least 2 inches in vertical displacement. (See an example of this defect in the photo below).

In addition, if there are any additional major priority slabs on a property that has immediate concerns, the Program will include those additional major slabs as well. “Major” constitutes a sidewalk slab that exhibits a vertical displacement between ½ inch and 2 inches and/or an excessive amount of cracking and/or spalling (depressions or cavities in the surface caused by deterioration).

This initial Program includes the replacement of the immediate concrete sidewalk slabs within this section. If there are any major category (between ½” and 2” in vertical displacement) priorities adjacent to the immediate priorities, the scope will include addressing those at the same time.

The City has established a construction budget of $250,000 for this initial project and will, therefore, proceed based on a “worst first” approach, and as funds allow. Engineering costs are not included in this budget and will be paid separately. A qualified contractor will be hired through the competitive bid process to obtain the lowest price.

As a reminder, property owners are responsible for 100% of the repair costs for the replacement of sidewalk slabs abutting their property and will be billed by the City after the work is completed.

The price the property owner will pay is the exact cost the City pays to the contractor, with no added fees or administrative costs. A detailed itemized list of costs for your lot will be mailed to you once the project is bid out and the prices are set.

You will receive a bill from the City after the work is completed and allowed ninety
(90) days to remit payment. If the bill is not paid within 90 days, the amount of the bill plus a late payment fee of 10% will be included on your next tax bill (per City Code, Section 102-2).

In response to concerns expressed by property owners, the City will offer financing options to assist residents with expenses related to the Sidewalk Repair Program. Please contact our Finance Department at 248-658-3340. 

TBD

Under Article IV - Sidewalks, of the City's Code of Ordinances, the procedure for which property owners must follow when the City determines that a sidewalk poses a safety concern is presented.

As per the Ordinance, each property owner will be given the opportunity to resolve the sidewalk issue on their own or to be placed on a list that the City will utilize for bidding out the Sidewalk Replacement Program to local contractors in hopes of receiving price quotes in accordance with economies of scale.

TBD

Property owners are responsible for sidewalk repairs even if a City-owned tree (within the public right-of-way) is impacting the walkway.

Please note the City does not remove healthy trees and relies on the arborist for direction on health, trimming and root grinding.

The contractor (either City-contracted or property owner-contracted) shall assume full responsibility for any damage to sewer manhole or curb boxes. When an adjustment is necessary, the proper Utility department shall be notified to make said adjustments.

The contractor is responsible to the City to complete the required amount of work
within a specific time and is penalized if they exceed the time allowed in the contract. However, if the contractor wants to take on additional work, they are free to do so as long as the contract with the City is completed prior to beginning any work out of the project scope.

Any additional work (driveways, approaches, patios, etc.) would be a private agreement between you and the contractor. The City will not become involved in disputes between you and the contractor regarding private work performed. As a courtesy, the City will include a separate division in the Bid Proposal for the contractor to bid the unit price, timing, restoration and payment terms for all private work, as necessary.

Yes. Typically, approximately 1’ – 2’ of lawn adjacent to the replaced sidewalk needs to be restored. This strip will be filled with topsoil and seed and mulch, as necessary. Either the City-contracted contractor or the property owner-contracted contractor will be expected to accomplish this.

The scope of work does not include replacing the driveway approach. If your driveway crosses the sidewalk, the scope of work will only include the sidewalk through the driveway.

The newly places concrete will take approximately one week to cure.

Please do not drive on the concrete until the barrels have been removed by the city contractor.

You may park on the street while your drive is inaccessible. You do not need to notify Public Safety. They are aware that driveways with barricades are inaccessible and are permitted to park on the street overnight.

Brick pavers, fencing, and planters in the parkway may be removed during sidewalk construction and will be reset back to the original location when sidewalk construction is completed.

Barricades will be placed to protect the newly poured sidewalks. The City will not be responsible for any sidewalk slabs driven over or walked on before the contractor has removed the barricades.

Yes, new sidewalk construction has a warranty of one year from the date of installation. The warranty shall cover significant deterioration of the sidewalk.

Please mark any sprinkler heads adjacent to the sidewalk with a slab or with paint.
Automatic sprinklers should be shut off during the construction and may be turned on the day after the concrete is poured.