I’m sure I’m not alone in my dislike of construction zones.
But since I drive over 700 miles a day, I probably despise it more than the
average person. They slow me down, making my day longer. Especially, this year.
There are currently seven construction zones on my route,
with the speed limit reduced to 50 mph. That may not sound like a lot and I’m
continually told by construction types that they only slow me down for a few
minutes and then I can be on my way. That is true. But the problem is I don’t
just make one pass through. So for me, it becomes a little more protracted. I
make two round trips through each of these zones. That means the seven
construction zones have become 28. That’s how many times I have to slow down
and I usually wait behind traffic about half of the time. It generally adds an
hour, or more, to my day. You can see why construction is one of my many pet
peeves.
It helps to keep a sense of humor—otherwise, I’d just be
upset all the time. Thankfully, the level of intelligence of those in charge of
said construction makes that fairly easy. For instance, one day this past week,
I was chugging along down he road when I noticed the dreaded familiar orange
signs in the distance—more construction! Yay! Like the seven I had already
weren’t enough. Wondering what they had decided to “fix” now, I kept
driving—like I really had a choice in the matter; this is the only road I can
use in this particular area.
The first sign I passed was a lighted reader board that
advised me the left lane was closed two miles ahead. Okay, that’s no big deal.
There are two lanes on the freeway after all. I’m driving a slow truck and
usually stay in the right lane anyway. But then, not more than a half-mile
further, I see a sign that says right lane closed ahead.
So, of course, I’m driving along thinking that someone
messed up. Obviously, one of the signs was wrong. But which one? Figuring I’d
take a wait-and-see approach, I kicked off my cruise at the 50 mph sign and
continued on, a little amused by it all.
And then, rounding the next corner, I’m greeted by this:
Really? I thought. Both lanes are now closed for
construction? I guess that wouldn’t surprise me considering the convoluted
methods they sometimes use. But almost immediately, I knew it couldn’t be. I
was traveling on a busy freeway and if both lanes were indeed close ahead, I
felt pretty confident I would have already been in the resulting traffic
backup—and I wasn’t.
By this time, I can see the orange and white barrels ahead,
lined up down the shoulders. Yep, BOTH shoulders. And then I saw the workers.
Well, two of them. They were standing on the side of the road, engaged in what
appeared to be quite an animated discussion, oblivious to the traffic whizzing
by. Both were shouting (I assume, since I couldn’t really hear them inside the
truck but their lips were moving rapidly and their red faces going through all
sorts of contortions), both were shaking their heads forcefully, and they were
wildly gesturing, pointing in what looked like all directions. I got the
distinct impression there had been some miscommunication somewhere along the
line. A miscommunication that had for the moment left both lanes OPEN! That
worked for me! Except that meant I’d had to slow down to 50 mph for nothing.
But that was okay. Just this once anyway. It had allowed me a better view and a
little more time to enjoy the show as I passed.
The entertaining diversion didn’t last long though. By my
next trip through, they had figured it out—at least I think they had. There
still were no lanes shut down but the signs had been changed. They now read,
“Shoulder Work Ahead.” But that may have had nothing to do with any
construction. It might have simply been to allow the workers to finish their
argument in relative safety. ~
Bruce
A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey,
Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS
and paperback
on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud
member of Rave Reviews Book Club.
______________________________
Current Reads
No comments:
Post a Comment