The Sliding Main Street Hillside

The recent heavy rains have played havoc with sidewalks and cuts on Main Street between 5th and 6th streets. On the north side, where the cut is from five to fifteen feet deep, the whole hillside is apparently sliding to the south. The contractors completed their work and it was accepted by the city last Thursday. For the past month, they had been engaged in building the sidewalks on both sides of the street. Several times the bank caved down into the street, necessitating the removal of large amounts of earth and repairs to the sidewalk. When the work was finally completed and accepted, everything was cleaned up and in as good a condition as possible. Since that time, the ground has again taken a slide downhill. In one place, for a distance of probably 100 feet, the whole sidehill has slid down until the sidewalk is completely covered to a depth of from five to ten feet with stumps, logs, and earth. The foundation of houses built on that side, between 5th and 7th streets, are continually moving and require constant attention. The ground is clay, full of seams, and when wet, slides down in masses. Eventually, the whole side-hill must be graded off, for it is evident that unless strongly bulkheaded, it will be continually moving southward in wet weather.