Contract crews last week gave a fresh new look to the intersection at Gay Street and Clinch Avenue by installing decorative stamped asphalt that resembles a brick surface.

This week, they'll be upgrading the intersection at Gay Street and Church Avenue, and the following week (Sept. 25-29), they'll rejuvenate the Gay Street and Cumberland Avenue intersection.

The intersections are being closed for one week at a time to accommodate the work. But the first week's work was finished on time, despite some rainy weather.

The decorative stamped asphalt solves a few problems. First, it increases pedestrian safety by making the crosswalks more visible to motorists. Second, this new surface is attractive and stylized - the replicated "bricks" are colored and patterned. Third, the asphalt is durable and cost-effective, eliminating the need for ongoing brick replacement.

That may not sound like a big deal, but... remember the badly deteriorated old medallions at the Clinch and Church intersections? At their lowest point, they were so uneven and rough that they were hard on car alignments - and even a bit treacherous for pedestrians.