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Museum District residents want streets swept

Posted at 6:59 PM, Feb 28, 2014
and last updated 2014-03-01 08:44:06-05

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- As crews are digging up the streets and replacing old cast-iron pipes in Richmond’s Museum District, some residents said the temporary paving job and has left them with cracked windshields and chipped paint.

"It's cracked all the way along there," Valerie Munz said outside the home she shares with her husband.

Munz stood next to a small SUV that she and her husband rarely drive and park on Tilden Street.

"There's been a lot of construction and I haven't had to move it. And then when I went in to move it, I noticed the 5 inch crack across the front of the windshield," Munz said.

Munz is like other Museum District residents concerned about loose asphalt and gravel littering the streets.

The Department of Public Utilities said work crews are replacing old cast-iron gas lines for with a new polyethylene pipe, which residents don't mind.

It's the temporary asphalt and gravel that's causing them concern.

"I didn't think it would be too hard to maybe just sweep it up before they left," Bryan Hall, who tries not to park on the street because of the loose gravel, said.

And Hall's isn't alone in his sentiment.

Jillian Lehman said city workers need to clean up the mess and should "just come by with a street sweeper or vacuum machine."

Some with damage want to know if the city can be held liable the City of Richmond.

The Department of Public Utilities released a statement about the concerns:

"Once work is completed, temporary asphalt is applied to the area that has been dug up until the area can be permanently paved.

Customers who feel that the city is responsible for damage caused by work that the city is performing may file a claim for damages with the city attorney's office."

However, the project is benefiting Precision Auto Glass.

"It's probably the biggest area right now, of our customer base, with us being pretty close, we're usually the first person they call,"  Precision Auto Glass' Paul Atkinson said.