South Bend residents fight to keep historic brick pavement on West LaSalle

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- Road construction on West LaSalle Avenue in South Bend has unveiled a piece of history. Brick pavement that’s 100 years old.

Residents in the area are fighting to preserve the bricks by appealing to the city with a petition.

The petition currently has a little over 225 signatures and residents are calling the bricks an important piece of south bend history.

“They deserve to stay.”

“It’s part of our heritage.”

“Save them. The beauty and history of my hometown.”

These are just a few of the comments that have been left on the petition to save the brick streets on West LaSalle Avenue.

The decades-old pavement was only just revealed last week after city crews removed the asphalt as part of a repavement project.

Instead of repaving, residents on West LaSalle want the brick restored.

Councilman Tim Scott says restoring the brick is not a simple task, especially when taking the raised manholes and the unknowns of the bricks condition into account.

 “What we don’t know is if the street is good brick through the entire street,” Scott said. “It’s like peeling off a piece of siding on the side of a house is good. You won’t know that till you peel everything off.”

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to save the streets, however Scott says most of the repavement project is already complete on LaSalle.

“I appreciate that citizens have taken that interest. It’s a worthy cause i just don’t know if that can happen right now on LaSalle.”

The department of public works is planning to pave over the brick streets next week but residents are still trying to garner as many signatures as they can despite that.

Councilman Scott says it’s possible that in the future there can be some kind of system for preserving and maintaining brick roads in South Bend neighborhoods with resident support but that it may be too late for this one at least this time around.

View the petition here.