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Phase II of Ybor City 7th Avenue rebricking is complete (City of Tampa)<\/p>\nPhase II of Ybor City 7th Avenue rebricking is complete (City of Tampa)<\/p>\n
At a glance, it looks like a simple swap: asphalt out, brick in.But the latest phase of re-bricking Seventh Avenue in Ybor City is part preservation project, part infrastructure puzzle and a lot more intricate than it appears. Here are five things to know about what\u2019s actually been going on beneath your feet (and tires):<\/p>\n
It takes 60,000 bricks to transform just two blocks<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a typo. Tens of thousands of individual bricks, each placed with intention, are going into a relatively short stretch of road. It\u2019s less \u201crepaving\u201d and more like assembling a very large, very durable mosaic. Some might call it a perfect marriage of form and function.<\/p>\n
These bricks have lived other lives across Tampa<\/p>\n
The materials aren\u2019t new\u2014they\u2019re salvaged. Crews are pulling from historic brick streets across the city, giving decades-old vitrified clay bricks a second act on 7th Avenue.<\/p>\n
Not all historic bricks make the cut<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s where it gets picky, in a good way. Tampa\u2019s original streets were built with specific reddish-brown clay bricks from manufacturers like Augusta Block and Southern Clay Manufacturing Co. Replicating that exact look means sourcing, sorting, and sometimes rejecting bricks that don\u2019t quite match. Authenticity, it turns out, is a logistical challenge.<\/p>\n
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Phase II of 7th Avenue rebricking finishes ahead of schedulde (City of Tampa)<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll feel the difference before you consciously notice it<\/p>\n
Brick streets don\u2019t just look different\u2014they behave differently. There\u2019s more texture. More sound. A subtle rumble under your tires. All of it works together to signal: slow down, people are here. No speed trap required.<\/p>\n
The most important work is the part you\u2019ll never see<\/p>\n
Before a single brick is laid, crews mill the roadway, test the soil, and fine-tune the base layer. Get that wrong, and the whole thing feels off. Get it right, and the final surface is smooth, durable and done in just 25 days. In other words: the real craftsmanship is buried beneath the bricks. Each two-block phase of the overall rebricking plan, which will eventually stretch along 7th from Nuccio Parkway to 26th Street, costs about $430,000, with the funds coming from the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds. <\/p>\n