Engineer: Main Street tree roots have heaved sidewalks and impede ADA access

Civil engineer Rima Loqaitis described photos and design constraints showing tree roots pushing up sidewalk panels and creating low points where water pools.

She said the last rehabilitation was in 1991 and that the planned reconstruction requires excavating a roughly 13-inch structural section (5-inch concrete slab over an 8-inch subbase). "As the tree matures, the root system expands laterally and within available soil volume," Loqaitis said, explaining that roots are often directly under the sidewalk and that sustained root–pavement conflicts produce vertical displacement and accessibility failures. She emphasized that the corridor is constrained between curb and building and that PROWAG/ADA width and slope requirements limit options for retaining some trees in place.