A piece of sidewalk beloved by earthquake nerds everywhere was unwittingly destroyed last month when a Hayward city crew was sent out to do repairs.
Geologists have been documenting the curb’s movement for years because it’s a perfect illustration of the seismic shifts brought about by the Hayward fault.
"It gives the observer a really good idea of how the fault is moving and at what rate the fault was moving," said David Schwartz, a USGS geologist.
The same peculiar alignment that made it a boon for geologists rendered it a target for the city.
"If you look at the before photos, it was pretty offset, so we wanted to make sure it's a safe intersection," said Assistant City Manager Kelly McAdoo. It has since been replaced to install a wheelchair-accessible ramp.
To be fair, the city says it had no idea that the curb had any special significance when it ordered the work to be done. Ironically, geologists say the repairs won’t last for long.
"The fault is already at work trying to break it and begin to slide it sideways," Schwartz said. "It'll be back."
Image Credit: Flickr User darkismus, https://flic.kr/p/7nmBT7 via (CC BY 2.0)