Note to self: Wear OLD boots when working traffic detail for road construction.
That said...
I've learned a lot about road construction in the past year. Normally, we just don't pay attention beyond the inconvenience of the equipment, cones, and barrels in the roadway. Or the crap that gets on our cars when we drive through a freshly paved section of roadway. And we see the construction workers who seem to be standing around, on a permanent coffee break at tax-payer expense.
I've been working this traffic detail off and on this past year. This road was in dire need of widening. If you are from this area, I'm talking about the stretch of State Route 20 that runs from Lawrenceville through Grayson and into Loganville.
This is dirty, nasty work even though I am just standing in the roadway, or sitting I'm my patrol car. They stir up all kinds of dust and dirt, and the tar from the roadway sticks to everything in a 3 mile radius. It gets in my nose, my hair, and worst of all, my pores. It sticks to my car, which today, is already pollen encrusted. And it gets inside my car, creating a fine layer of dust and dirt that I can't seem to clean enough to remove.
My purpose is traffic control. When they move the equipment into the roadway, I have to stop traffic. And when they are paving through an intersection, I have to stop it completely for several minutes. This is not only for the equipment, but for the tar to cool slightly before it gets driven over. This makes for some very irate motorists. This is also the reason I should wear my old boots for this detail. I don't want the tar on my new ones, do I? I need to put the old ones in my trunk and just leave them there.
So, you are wondering about those construction workers? The equipment operators are fairly job-specific. When their equipment is not needed, they get a little break. They are the lucky ones. The poor shovel-bearers have it the worst. They are scooping debris and asphalt and if they were not able to swap off, they would be exhausted.
Then there are the foremen. There are one or two that work for the contractor. Then there are one or two who work for GDOT (Georgia Department of Transportation). And yes, there is a lot of standing around and idle time.
For example: I am a sub-contractor working for a sub-contractor who is working for the contractor, who is hired by the state. I am idly blogging while I'm waiting for my next useful function. And you would think the mere presence of my flashing blue lights would accomplish something, but alas, it does not.
That said...
I've learned a lot about road construction in the past year. Normally, we just don't pay attention beyond the inconvenience of the equipment, cones, and barrels in the roadway. Or the crap that gets on our cars when we drive through a freshly paved section of roadway. And we see the construction workers who seem to be standing around, on a permanent coffee break at tax-payer expense.
I've been working this traffic detail off and on this past year. This road was in dire need of widening. If you are from this area, I'm talking about the stretch of State Route 20 that runs from Lawrenceville through Grayson and into Loganville.
This is dirty, nasty work even though I am just standing in the roadway, or sitting I'm my patrol car. They stir up all kinds of dust and dirt, and the tar from the roadway sticks to everything in a 3 mile radius. It gets in my nose, my hair, and worst of all, my pores. It sticks to my car, which today, is already pollen encrusted. And it gets inside my car, creating a fine layer of dust and dirt that I can't seem to clean enough to remove.
My purpose is traffic control. When they move the equipment into the roadway, I have to stop traffic. And when they are paving through an intersection, I have to stop it completely for several minutes. This is not only for the equipment, but for the tar to cool slightly before it gets driven over. This makes for some very irate motorists. This is also the reason I should wear my old boots for this detail. I don't want the tar on my new ones, do I? I need to put the old ones in my trunk and just leave them there.
So, you are wondering about those construction workers? The equipment operators are fairly job-specific. When their equipment is not needed, they get a little break. They are the lucky ones. The poor shovel-bearers have it the worst. They are scooping debris and asphalt and if they were not able to swap off, they would be exhausted.
Then there are the foremen. There are one or two that work for the contractor. Then there are one or two who work for GDOT (Georgia Department of Transportation). And yes, there is a lot of standing around and idle time.
For example: I am a sub-contractor working for a sub-contractor who is working for the contractor, who is hired by the state. I am idly blogging while I'm waiting for my next useful function. And you would think the mere presence of my flashing blue lights would accomplish something, but alas, it does not.
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