It’s that time of year when action is picking up around the city.
Though the City of Estevan is not undertaking a particularly aggressive construction schedule in 2015, there are a number of initiatives that could try the public’s patience. But that’s what progress is all about. It’s the same each year, and we all have to prepare ourselves for the inconveniences that any city construction plan includes.
And residents, truck drivers and others passing through got a very real dose of the disturbances road closures cause when a massive hole opened up on Sixth Street near the corner of 13th Avenue on Monday. It wasn’t planned construction, but it’s the kind of closure we must all come to expect in the summer months.
The summer is the time for things to get done, and anytime work is happening on our streets, it means there will be brighter days and smoother driving surfaces ahead.
Sure, it means interruptions to traffic, detours that take drivers off their usual paths and an increase in noise pollution. Do a little extra planning, leave for work a few minutes earlier. Be prepared to have your day inconvenienced by all the summer work.
Now, many of the construction projects will see new asphalt and concrete put down over gravel patches that have marked Estevan’s streets for a long time following various cuts in the pavement to deal with watermain breaks and other issues beneath the surface. Residents’ patience has been tested more in the wait for work than it will ever be tested by slowing briefly through work zones.
In some cases, people have been waiting more than three years to have these patches fully restored to their previous state.
We understand it takes time to repair the cuts in these roads. After a street has been dug up, the earth that is replaced needs some time to settle. But Estevan’s streets and avenues have been scarred far too long by many of these gravel pits that create dusty clouds on the driest and windiest of prairie days. These spots are prone to potholes that test our vehicles’ suspension if we fail to slow to a crawl.
It’s time many of these areas have been repaired, but even these projects will require the co-operation of the community.
Let City crews and contractors do their work. Stay out of the way and be respectful drivers in their work zones. These projects are much needed and much appreciated, however much of a nuisance they can be at times to commuters.
So, every time you see an orange sign or detours directing traffic around a construction area, don’t roll your eyes. Be happy that what needs doing is getting done.
