This is what was going on just outside the gate to our apartment building today. Road work. They needed to dig up a stretch from the more major road, down through the lane. You can see from the photo below that they dug a few feet deep. When I left the building mid morning, the whole trench was open, lined with a long mound of debris. There was no way out without walking through the work area. That is our gate in the far right of the picture. The tractor is in front of the garage entrance.
The pipes, we were told, were to lay more phone wires. But this is the amazing part – they only began this morning and they finished this evening. I have seen this a few times as we have wandered our regular routes in town, but I didn’t fully comprehend until it happened here. No where in America have I seen such efficiency in road work.
They may be moving on to the next section, but our area is cleaned up. Even though there may be a few fine details to fill in, Greg drove into the garage without problem. They were still working, too. No ‘it’s quitting time, I belong to a union’ attitude on display. I don’t know if they worked shifts or anything like that, since I was going on about my business during the day. They were, however, very agreeable to answering my questions (via my Iris) at 4:30 PM about how things were going.
I haven’t seen the finished product here, but I have in other places. The roads are all in very decent condition. I am definitely a fan of road work Taipei style.
Ronibird says
Can we import their methods? I believe the American road worker’s style is spreading like a plague throughout Boise, i.e., have as many roads under construction as possible, that way, we’ll never be out of work.
Anemone says
Yeah … I haven’t seen something finished since the new Locust Grove overpass, but the ‘construction zone’ has spread like a gangrenous wound over the landscape …
Pearlroses says
We couldn’t have said it better than Beth and Heidi!
But I recall being amazed at the efficiency in road work when we were there, and wondered if it was just a fluke. Evidently not! I think you should send a report w/pics. to ITD. 🙂