General ranting-mostly at the Mass highway department-LONG

[thejimlab]

OK,
My commute every day sucks. Its about 45 miles one way, sometimes half can be through fun backroads, but mostly it's shitty highway driving. The last 15 miles is on route 495 north from exit 14 to exit 20. It used to be ok, just a regular highway drive, but about a year ago they started construction and it's been fucked ever since. I thought they were finally finished, no more construction equipment, no more lane closures, back to normal. Then, the other day, I'm cruising along at 85mph and the whole highway comes to a stop. Another lane closure. So, after showing up to work 20 minutes late, again, I decided to write the Mass Hihgway dept. an email. Here it is.

I am writing this email to express my extreme discontent with
you
and the Roads construction Co. Third world countries build roads faster
than
you people do. I can't tell you how happy I was to see the good old
Roads
construction team out on 495 N near exit 16....again. Do they just keep
building the same road over and over again? How do I get involved in
this
scam? I am being dead serious when I say this crap adds 45 minutes to
my
commute and I am actually quitting my job and taking a pay cut so I
don't
have to deal with this anymore. IT DOES NOT TAKE THIS LONG TO PAVE A
ROAD.
Good luck and please keep your incompetent paving company away from my
town.

I felt a little better after venting, some of it's not true. I'm not quitting my job, I'm getting laid off (thank god), I just wanted to make them feel bad. Less than a day later they wrote back!

Thank you for your Email concerning the Rte. 495 North Bound project.
We
understand your frustration with both MassHighway and Roads Corporation
and
the perception that this project is never ending. As you may be aware,
Roads was directed to replace a sizeable portion of this project due to
poor
workmanship. While this caused continued traffic interruptions, it
was
done at no cost to the taxpayers of Massachusetts. Roads has hired a
new
paving subcontractor to complete this project and we are confident that
the
work will be done satisfactorily and be finished by the end of this
season.

The road has to be paved again. I hate them, I really fucking hate them all.

[Nathan]

I know exactly what you mean... I-5 in Oregon has a section that has been under contstruction for as long as I can remember just outside Albany. The road is two lanes and the speed is cut to 55 for around 10 miles and we are diverted off the normall highway onto the onto what is normally the oncomming traffic and the oncomming is diverted onto a completely different section adjacent to the highway. This has litereally been true of atleast the last 5-8 years.

[Tangent]

What really burns me is that the retards here in California insist on just adding carpool lanes everywhere. My morning commute which used to be pretty bad was downright horrible for over a year as they added a lane. Then it finally was opened. AS A $#*)&%* CARPOOL LANE! Now traffic is back to even worse than it was before except there are about 20 people who can now fly by part of the congestion. The reason it's worth is because of the steady increase in traffic and the screwed up way they ended the carpool lane. Most carpool lanes end requiring cars in it to merge back to the right. The geniuses here decided to let it keep going and turn the old #1 lane into #2 lane and the old #2 lane to turn in to a mile-long exit ramp for a freeway in the direction that never gets high traffic. :evil:

Carpool lanes were worth a try 25 years ago, how much longer are you going to continue building the damned things until you accept that they don't work!?!

[PeterCip]

Re: General ranting-mostly at the Mass highway department-LO

I am writing this email to express my extreme discontent with
you
and the Roads construction Co. Third world countries build roads faster
than
you people do. I can't tell you how happy I was to see the good old
Roads
construction team out on 495 N near exit 16....again. Do they just keep
building the same road over and over again? How do I get involved in
this
scam? I am being dead serious when I say this crap adds 45 minutes to
my
commute and I am actually quitting my job and taking a pay cut so I
don't
have to deal with this anymore. IT DOES NOT TAKE THIS LONG TO PAVE A
ROAD.
Good luck and please keep your incompetent paving company away from my
town.

1. You should have known that you would get nowhere with mass highway, and it is no different in any state.
2. You obviously haven't been to many 3rd world countries.
3. Perhaps if you had taken a little more time to construct a well-written email, they would have not just looked past the validity of your statement.

One other thing, move to Boston, then complain about construction traffic.
-pete

[thejimlab]

Pete,
I was a JP resident for a few years, I am aware of the wonderful traffic in our capital city. Back then, my mode of transport was my single speed. I'm pretty sure that no matter what my letter said, or how well it was written, I was going to get the same response. I had no expectations, I just wanted to vent. I feel better. I have never been to a third world country. But, my brother is an engineer in the army, and he is building a road in Afghanistan many times longer than the piece they just finished on 495, it will be done in half the time.

[Koony]

But, my brother is an engineer in the army, and he is building a road in Afghanistan many times longer than the piece they just finished on 495, it will be done in half the time.

Afghanistan? Hmmm.... let's see...... straight, wide open dessert, camels pulling carts, bicycles, uhhh.... more camels, and the 5% of the population that actually drive Toyota's.

I don't see how a whole Army unit could possibly erect a highway in less time than a crew of beer guzzlin' 'crete workers that have to deal with real traffic problems, nonetheless.

...... but I understand your frustration..... I lived near Milwaukee for some time and dealt with the same

[Schniddy]

No one can beat PennDOT, they suck ass.
Car pool highways suck ass and are a waste of money. Dimond lanes are much more economic.

[Dave]

The first ten years I had my license part of I-75 between my exit and the Ohio River was under construction. It is only about a six mile stretch.

During my four years in college, another section was under construction from the day I enrolled until the day I graduated.





Hey, look - 1000 posts!!!!

[nando]

speaking of car pool lanes, the state of texas just released a study that shows that carpool lanes have much higher fatality rates than standard lanes. hows that for efficiency..

[rwh11385]

Hey, look - 1000 posts!!!!

good jorb n00b

[mrsleeve]

HEY CHILL OUT!

I build roads for a living. There is alot more that goes into to it than just paveing. Now if the there is sub par workmanship or shitty sub grade or shitty pavement or creat the whole road will look like a blanket over a mud puddel in a year or so. Roads are usualy built to last 20 years or better, would you like to go through all this agin in 7.

If that was the case in your situation where there was sub par materials or workmanship you should be wrighting a letter to the engineering firm who had the inspectors out there while they did it the 1st time!

People dont like shitty roads I know I dont. People also dont like haveing to be incovinced by anything like road construction. I have 12 miles of lane closure on the way to and from my job site I deal with.

Get up a bit eariler and drive a bit slower through the barrels. After all we dont drive our cars through your office at 70 mph.

Sorry for the long post and feel free to flame me, you just hit a nerve is all

[trent]

i like lesbians!

[erik325i]

i like lesbians!

Congratulations? :?

[AdironRider]

If anyone has driven rt 101 in southern NH youll understand the epitomy of modern road construction inefficiency. In the 17 years I have lived in Exeter, they have been working on turning this 2 lane road into a 4 laner. 17 YEARS and they still arent finished! Not to mention how the town I live in will spend months paving a backroad, only to find it useless come spring time cause the morons who work at the public works department dont know how to prevent frost heaves.

[Digitalwave]

No one can beat PennDOT, they suck ass.
Car pool highways suck ass and are a waste of money. Dimond lanes are much more economic.

How do you know? You don't even drive.