Last Wednesday, Columbia Street was supposed to have its day in the sun.

Columbia, at the intersections of West 41st and 44th streets, was set to get maintenance paving to cover some serious ruts and potholes.

A photographer from The Columbian was even there to document the work, for a story about Vancouver’s dwindling street maintenance and capital building funds that ran on Monday’s front page.

Of course, the skies opened up, unleashing a Pacific Northwest shower right on a job that requires hot asphalt.

And of course, not long after that, the asphalt work done that day looked like it was a bum job, too — the old roadway was soon visible under some pretty serious potholes. Gravel from the work dusted the surface.

“If we’re going to fix the road, why not do it right?” asked West 41st Street neighbor Wayne MacLean, one of several readers who called, e-mailed or stopped by to point out the fresh crumbling.

Well, Public Works Director Brian Carlson had an answer Thursday: Rain happens.

Carlson said the city’s policy on street maintenance and weather is simple: “You don’t pave in the rain.”

But if they had to limit their time to months where the Doppler radar remained clear, he said his department wouldn’t have time to finish all the work that comes their way.

“We live in Southwest Washington,” Carlson said. “You take what it gives ya.”

The forecast called for rain later in the evening; instead there was a downpour in the midst of paving, he said.

Hot asphalt and cold water don’t go hand-in-hand, but crews did their best.

Plus, due to the weather, the work was only half done — the asphalt put in last week was simply the base lift in a two-part paving job.

“The analogy I would use is like when you’re painting your house: The work we had done last week was putting the primer coat on the house,” Carlson said. “People didn’t realize is all they were seeing is a work in progress.”

The house, ahem, road, was finished Thursday, as crews returned under unwaveringly sunny skies and applied the second and final layer.

About $500 may have been spent to refill some of the base layer, but the top layer typically can handle a little unevenness in the base lift, public works spokeswoman Loretta Callahan said.

Other than that, no extra money was spent.

A rough estimate on the cost of the work on Columbia at 41st and 44th streets is $10,000, which includes materials, equipment and staff time, she said.

Thursday’s work happened with one minor hiccup — Vancouver’s paver broke down and one had to be borrowed from Clark County’s fleet to finish up.

Standing on the corner watching, neighbor Irene Miller said the road’s poor condition over the last week had her befuddled as well.

“I am glad to see them come back,” she said as a truck towed the city’s paver away.

Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542 or andrea.damewood@columbian.com.

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