# Please explain/justify this road construction.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 13, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925 "2002-06-13T20:45:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/1 "2002-06-13T20:45:43Z")
On a street I have to travel on every day, there is a sectionof road construction: A square to the right of the road, approximately 12 feet by 12 feet. It has been dug up, then covered over with gravel. The pain in the ass part is that there are orange and white barrels and barracades around it, meaning you have to cross over to the on coming lane to drive around it. From it’s location it does not appear to me to be sewer work.
What’s bugging the hell out of me is that it has been this way for well over 3 weeks now, and it hasn’t changed a bit. What’s more, I see this at various times of the day, early morning, mid morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon, and I have never, ever, not once, seen anyone what so ever working on it! What gives?
Why can’t they just patch this up and black top it? I see crap like this all the time. What’s going on here? They dug it up, now why don’t they do what they gotta do, and blacktop it. Why is the job just sitting there, with these barracades forcing us over the yellow line? Where are the prix that dug this up? Digging up a hole somewhere else? Is this another way for the overpaid municipal workers to drive me nuts? :mad:
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### Author:  [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/2 "2002-06-13T23:22:22Z")
I can relate. For years… yes years, there has been this habitual dig it up fill it up, dig it up, fill it up on this street. Such a pain. I think we should be able to ticket the city for failure to provide safe streets. They ticket us for everything under the sun. If we have a thunderstorm the traffic lights start blinking red. Sometimes this goes on for more than 24 hours.
Don’t you wish you could break out a ticket book and write a citation for stupid street digs? Or a broken traffic light? If I got pulled over for a broken turn signal, I would surely get a ticket. No justice.
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### Author:  [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/3 "2002-06-13T23:26:17Z")
Overpaid they may be, but this sounds to me like a classic example of the fiscal year’s funding running out. If you can find out when the fiscal year ends, you can probably add one day to that date and that’s when it’ll be fixed.
(Pure guess from minimal information.)
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### Author:  [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/4 "2002-06-14T00:54:08Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by pkbites_
> **What’s going on here? They dug it up, now why don’t they do what they gotta do, and blacktop it. Why is the job just sitting there, with these barracades forcing us over the yellow line? Where are the prix that dug this up? Digging up a hole somewhere else? Is this another way for the overpaid municipal workers to drive me nuts?**
I’m not sure what the title is in Milwaukee, but if it were to happen in Toronto I’d write my alderman and give him hell.
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by jacksen9_
> **Don’t you wish you could break out a ticket book and write a citation for stupid street digs? Or a broken traffic light? If I got pulled over for a broken turn signal, I would surely get a ticket. No justice.**
Never mind a ticket - wait for the next election and fire the bastards!
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/5 "2002-06-14T01:29:35Z")
sounds like 2 seperate work crews. One had to repair somethign under the street, which was most likely a priority. Then it goes to the street repair crew who is in no rush.
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### Author:  [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/6 "2002-06-14T01:48:59Z")
Maybe the people who did the digging-up and below-ground work are completely different than the people who do the paving. I can imagine that being outsourced. And maybe the paving people are behind by a few weeks, and just haven’t gotten to it yet.
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### Author:  [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-justify-this-road-construction/113925/7 "2002-06-14T05:09:50Z")
These all sound like good theories. But I’d love to here from someone who does road construction.
To be honest, the idea that there is one crew digging the holes and another that fills them in (when they’re damn good and ready) sounds absurd to me…:rolleyes:…except…
**except** this is Milwaukee, the most over bureaucratic city in the @#$%ing world. And crooked! Anything you’ve heard about Chicago or New York city hall have nothing on Milwaukee! The mayor should be in prison! He’s guilty of 2 felonies, he confessed to one of them on live telelvision!
So the idea that these holes in the road are the result of bureaucracy doesn’t surprise me.
I’d still like to hear from someone who works road construction.