Construction is inevitable, but does it have to be irrational?

For the better part of the last two months,
Highway 30 as it runs through Carroll has
been choked off with construction as the
old surface has been pried up and a shiny,
new asphalt layer has replaced it. I use
the word choke deliberately because at any
given moment, anyone driving along 30 and
attempting to turn right or left or to just
keeping going straight might find themselves
redirected or even turned back. One night
last week, I found myself practically trapped
on North Main bouncing back and forth between
Highway 30 on the one side and a rail crew on
the other. To get to my home on North Main,
I eventually had to drive down to Grant and
come around that way.

Now, I’ve never been one to complain too
vociferously about road construction. After
all, if one wants to drive on smooth asphalt
lanes the majority of the year, one has to
put up with some maintenance in the summer.
But the construction on 30 seems almost
punitive in nature. I’ve never seen anything
like it.

I don’t envy road workers their job especially
when the heat is brutal, but twice now I’ve had
flag wavers directing me to drive straight into
oncoming traffic they themselves apparently did
not see. I’ve driven up streets toward 30 only
to be turned back once I got there. I’ve seen
other drivers confused as they attempted to
turn toward 30 and were only waved off after
they tried to make that turn. I’ve found myself
turning out from a business not knowing which
lane I was supposed to be using, the reconstructed
one or the dug up lane three inches below it. I’ve
seen very few signs except those posted at the very
ends of the construction zones.

I’ve also heard law enforcement say things over
their radios such as “Well, I finally got to Wal-
Mart.” Fire trucks, ambulances, deputies, police.
If they’re confused and delayed, we all are. And
if there is one thing I know it’s that when the
average American driver get confused, he gets
dangerous.

According to the Cherokee office of the Iowa DOT,
construction should last until the end of July
and that’s IF the weather holds. I’m all in favor
of nice roads. I brake for road workers every time.
If the Iowa Department of Transportation wants to
fix up Highway 30, more power to them. We will all
benefit in the end, but why tear up the length of
30 from one end of Carroll to the other? Why make
it harder for drivers to get out of your way? Why
not reroute traffic for a day or two to get the
job done section by section? Why not put a few more
people on the job to expedite things so the
commercial hub of Carroll County can get back to
business and pay the taxes that pay for these road
projects in the first place

For those who are not familiar with the great
American tradition of complaining, here is a phone
number you can call just to say, “Hey, it would be
great if we could get this road construction done
with sooner rather than later.” Be polite, but firm
if you decide to call. The squeaky wheel gets greased,
but you get more flies with honey and other mixed metaphors.

Call the Iowa Department of Transportation at
(712) 276-1451 to voice your concerns.