I Hate Mondays! ~ No More Cones!

Click the picture to see it larger.

It's that time of year again. Everything is in bloom. The world is becoming a colorful place again. Gone is the lifeless cold of the monochromatic winter. I love Spring, everything is turning green. Green is my favorite color. But I hate the color orange when it's all over the highway. Yes, spring is not only the season of new life, but it's also construction season. Oh how I loathe construction season. I'm shaking my fists now as we speak. Cones, signs, flashing lights.....grrrrrr. I usually like the color orange, just not when it's all over the vast expanse of the interstate.

I've been working at my current job for about a year and a half now. I've been around for a little over 30 years and I don't ever remember the highway I use to get to work ever being worked on...ever. Of course now that I have to travel this stretch of the highway everyday for work, they decide to work on it. It started last Spring when they tore the road up and we had to travel to the other side of the highway. Then they would tear up the other side and we'd have to travel the other side. This seemed to change almost everyday. I never knew what side I would be traveling on next. At the end of last summer when they were finished they patched it up but it was still bumpy so everyone had to drive on that throughout the fall and winter. They're just now getting around to paving it this year so I'm hoping it'll all be over soon.

I guess the reason I decided to talk about this particular subject today is because one night last week I was driving home from my girlfriend's house and I'm just traveling down the highway, "Dum, dee, dum, dee, dum" and next thing you know I almost hit one of those orange markers. I swerved to the left to stay on the road and I think I may have hit something. I thought I got a flat tire but fortunately I didn't. The thing is, there were no warning signs telling drivers there was construction ahead. I thought maybe I missed the signs but I talked to a few other people and the same thing happened to them. I don't know how the Department of Transportation could be so careless. By the way, if you happened to be traveling on Rt. 220 near the Rt. 15 exit in Williamsport, PA, last week and had this happen to you, please comment.

I could go on forever talking about highway construction but I'm going to narrow it down to this top ten list of reasons why I can't stand it. Here they are in no particular order:

#1) The driver in front of me that apparantly thought the reduced speed limit sign said 20 m.p.h. instead of 50 m.p.h.

#2) The cop that sits on the side of the road that is just waiting to bust anyone for anything. I pass by them thinking to myself "Please stay there, please don't come after me."

#3) Trying to pass the semi-truck before the highway narrows to one lane.

#4) Increased roadkill - I can just imagine a groundhog or opossum trying to cross the road at night like they normally do and then they come across a concrete wall that wasn't there before and they're like "What the he.." *CRUNCH!*

#5) Traveling between two sets of concrete barriers is probably more difficult than trying to fly an X-wing through the trenches of the Death Star. I repeat to myself as I'm driving, "Stay on target, stay on target!"

#6) I think I have a slight case of OCPD which causes me to count all the cones as I pass by them.

#7) Taking a detour through a small town no one has ever heard of like "Hickleberrysberg" where people sit on their porches and watch you slowly go by because they have nothing better to do. This is probably the most excitement they've had in awhile. "Look ma and pa, the parade's come to town!"

#8) Getting lost while taking a detour. You're almost guaranteed that the guy at the gas station is going to tell you to take a left at the hot dog stand which may or may not be there when you get to the place you're supposed to turn.

#9) Where is everybody? Seriously, have you ever seen construction workers working on a construction site? I think little construction elves or sprites come out at night or when no one is around to see them work.

#10) Why do they narrow a twenty mile stretch of road to one lane just to work on a small 5-foot section of the road?

Thanks again for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. I hope all of you travel safely today.