(AP) — A faulty curb that perfectly illustrated the seismic forces at work underneath a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood has been fixed, stunning scientists, who say a curbside laboratory for studying earthquakes was destroyed.

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The Los Angeles Times reports that since at least the 1970s, scientists have painstakingly photographed the curb as the Hayward fault pushed it farther and farther out of alignment.

The newspaper reports it was an ever present reminder that someday, a massive earthquake would strike directly beneath one of the most heavily populated areas in Northern California.

Hayward officials say they didn’t know the significance for geologists when they fixed the curb last month.

Assistant City Manager Kelly McAdoo says the curb was replaced to install a wheelchair-accessible ramp at that intersection.