I was excited to see the installation process for the art at the intersection of 7th and H St. on Wednesday night.  Artist Charles Bergen was there, and described his thought process and challenges for the project.  One of the big challenges was the material – he’d originally intended it all to be done with traffic paint, but it was decided that the sides of the pedestrian crosswalk needed something more durable.  So the solution was to use pre-formed thermal plastic.  These pieces are being installed by Alternative Paving Concepts.

The process starts with cleaning the streets, then putting down glue.  The pieces are carefully put into place, then tamped down and the gaps sealed.  The work has to not only be careful, but also be done quickly since there is a limited number of nightly hours in which the street can be partially closed.