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The city recently replaced the sidewalk in the picture shown. A few days later we had a heavy rain that flooded the street and washed out the gravel from under the sections shown in the picture below. The washed out portion of the foundation extends about 6 inches under the exposed edge of the sidewalk. I do not know if the city will ever get around to fixing this and am thinking of fixing it myself. How should I proceed?

washed out sidewalk

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    Have you advised the city that there is an issue there? They will not fix what they don't know about.
    – RMDman
    Commented Mar 21 at 1:20
  • the sidewalk is city property and you can not do anything to it.
    – DIY75
    Commented Mar 21 at 1:54
  • So the storm drain failed, what's down hill from that sidewalk? I hope it's flood abatement reserve.
    – Jasen
    Commented Mar 21 at 3:54
  • Did the flooding from the street entirely wash out the gravel, i.e. you now have a concrete bridge? Sounds to me like there's an undrained sag in the road there, and the city needs another storm drain inlet on that side of the street—you can see one across the street.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Mar 21 at 13:07
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    Yes, there is a retention pond downhill from the erosion and there is a storm drain inlet on that side of the street. The system, however cannot handle the volume of water that occurs during heavy sustained rainfall so the banks overflow two or three times a year.
    – P Schmurr
    Commented Mar 22 at 3:42

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If this is a wadi (an intended flood path) the sidewalk needs a deeper concrete foundation to not be eroded by flood waters.

If not the drain needs to be fixed or upgraded.

This is civil engineering on public land, there may be legal consequences to a D.I.Y. repair.

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    Just a technicality but not everywhere treats sidewalks the same, in some states it is private property with a public easement. Local laws will determine who is responsible for repair.
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Mar 21 at 13:21
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To prevent further erosion, install a 4 inch pipe(s) under the sidewalk.

Cover the inlet with mesh to prevent stones filling/blocking the pipe.

Fill the eroded area with some gravel around the pipe.

This way you did not touch the sidewalk, thus no legal issues.

How to

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