Week's weather proves perfect for hittin' the bricks in Alton

An employee of Miller Pipeline was hitting the bricks Thursday, literally, with a rubber mallet on Spring Street in Alton. Two workers were replacing the bricks removed to allow for placement of an underground gas line. Alton city ordinance requires utilities to save and replace nearly all existing brick streets when they are torn up for underground work. It was a learning experience for the workers since bricks haven't been used to make streets for about a hundred years. Normally the company would use specialized equipment to burrow under the street but ran into some old infrastructure issues including several layers of limestone shelf just feet under the surface.

ALTON — An employee of Miller Pipeline was hitting the bricks Thursday, literally, with a rubber mallet on Spring Street in Alton.

Two workers were replacing the bricks removed to allow for placement of an underground gas line. Alton city ordinance requires utilities to save and replace nearly all existing brick streets when they are torn up for underground work.

The street work was a learning experience for the workers since bricks haven't been used to make streets for about a hundred years. Normally the company would use specialized equipment to burrow under the street but it ran into some old infrastructure issues, including several layers of limestone shelf just feet under the surface.