Roadwork Season Hopefully Nearing An End

I hope the leaves I see dropping indicate that the unceasing amount of various forms of roadwork around Cape may soon be coming to a close for this season. Our roadwork season typically runs mid-May through mid-September. It seems to slack off a little in July then picks up with triple the intensity the week just prior to schools starting their fall semester. Just out of curiosity I compiled a list of all of the streets in Cape that are currently being worked on and highlighted them in red on the Google map below.

Current street projects in Cape are highlighted in red.

I guess some of the funding for these projects comes from the Federal Stimulus Plan that was authorized earlier this year. I'm not sure how all of these infrastructure projects are necessarily affecting our economy, but I know they are certainly stimulating my blood pressure. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If you are a person on the go and have a hard time making it to the gym for a little cardio activity, a short drive through some of Cape's construction zones -- see map above -- should achieve an aerobic workout equivalent to a 5k run, all from the comfort of your vehicle. You can't beat the convenience. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for smooth roads and nice looking infrastructure. I'm even in favor of those sidewalks that the city likes to put in even though I rarely see anyone ever using them outside of the downtown business district. Usually most people I see on foot are just moseying down the middle of the street. But I have come to the conclusion that the people in charge of managing all of the various roadwork projects around town, must suffer from ADD. Their attention span seems to wander all over the place fixing streets whenever and wherever the mood strikes them. ADD normally is an abbreviation for Attention Deficit Disorder, but in this case it can also mean Annoy Drivers Daily. ~"Hey there's a pothole! Let's repave this block." Of course, after the roadway for a given project has been prepped and the pavement laid, the job is not quite done. Presumable after the blacktop or concrete has sufficiently cured -- which apparently takes a few weeks -- they have to come back and paint the directional stripes back on the road. But in the meantime they stick down little Post-It's on the pavement to remind themselves which stripes go where. Or at least Post-It notes is what my friend Bert claimed they used. I thought he was just pulling my leg until I actually got out of my truck and took a closer look.