By Lucas Lord
Over 100 years old, the bricks lining the streets on Harrisonville’ square add to the historic feel of the area. But recently many of the bricks have been uprooted from the Earth so repairs could be done to leaking water lines.
Forged with fire and clay by local craftsmen, the bricks were made just off the square at Harrisonville’s old brick factory on Brickplant road.
“We are working very hard to preserve the brick around the square as we work on repairing two small water leaks,” said Daniel Barnett, Harrisonville city clerk.
“Our engineers have done an excellent job so far pulling each brick off and individually hand-placing them on pallets that are now in secure storage at the water plant until they finish their work. The bricks were made here in Harrisonville, and they are an iconic part of who we are.”
Barnett said with the repairs being done in one of the most recognizable spots throughout Harrisonville, extra care is being taken with how the street is torn up.
“If it were anywhere else, say in the middle of an asphalt road, we would normally just break it up with a backhoe and repour it afterwards. Even if you can cut pieces of asphalt out you aren’t just going to put the pieces back in the road, it’ll always be easier to just repave it,” Barnett said.
“When it comes to working on our older brick roads it isn’t that simple. Anytime the city’s history can be preserved, and we can maintain as much of that original material as possible, then that’s what we are going to do. The town square is perhaps one of the most notable locations in our town, so we are taking our time to preserve that history.”
As repairs near completion Barnett said a water advisory will likely be posted to businesses and residents around the square.
“Now that the leaks have been largely stopped, we will want to give those that could be affected by the work at least a 24-hour notice before the final repairs begin,” he said. “I don’t think it will take them much more time to finish the repairs, so thankfully the bricks should be returning soon.”
