Road Work Ahead

There are times when I think I'm crazy, and times when I'm reasonably sure it's the rest of the world. And I really think someone was completely crazy when they made the clever decision to tear up so many of the major roadways in the DFW area all at the same time. It’s about time I publicly complained about it.

If you've spent any time at all on Airport Freeway/183 in the mid-cities then you know what I’m talking about. The destruction there is massive. Congested traffic is a chronic condition. The landmarks are gone. Gigantic overheads appear out of nowhere and loom over the commute. The sense of disorientation can be completely overwhelming – where am I, and how far away is my exit? 

I don’t drive 183 every day, but usually 2 or 3 times a week, and the routing is slightly different each time. It's like an obstacle course. Or a funhouse minus the creepy clowns (and the fun). There's no telling where the exits will be and what kind of curves (literally) will be thrown in. You have no way of predicting how long the trip will take – sometimes the traffic runs smoothly, and other times it creeps along, with plenty of time to gaze longingly at the nearly-finished additional lanes just on the other side of those concrete barriers.  

And I can’t help but wonder how many of those concrete barriers there are. Both here, and as a ratio compared to all of them in the world. Same with the orange barrels. I’ve thought about counting these things, but right when I get a great idea to help pass the time, the traffic loosens up and I have to drive again.



There must be a zillion of these? Two zillion, maybe.


Someone is trying to give us advance warning of closed exits and detours by using those flashing light-up signs. Bless their hearts. The trouble with those is they change too slowly if you’re driving fast (so that you get only part of the message) or sometimes too fast to read it all. They’re full of odd abbreviations and weird punctuation, so I’m completely distracted. Last week I saw “clearance” with a hyphen to split it after “cle” – I don’t believe I’ve seen that one anywhere else!

Of course, businesses all along the highway’s access roads have been affected. For a while I was noticing a number of optimistic banners proclaiming “We’re Open!!” “We Aren’t Going Anywhere!” and the extremely hopeful “Now Leasing.” Now I’ve noticed some of those have given up. Others have improved their situation and either moved or built new facilities. I work in an office building that used to have a parking area between it and the frontage road. Not any more – the whole front section is gone. For a while we had a big dirt mountain out front, and we all gave up washing our cars because it was pointless. This week I got to my office to find an entirely new driveway into the parking lot.

Another side effect of such extensive road work is the plethora of single-lane access roads running alongside the highway. Sure, they’re fun with their twists and turns (and more concrete barriers) but you just can’t enjoy that when you’re behind giant crawling construction equipment ALL THE TIME. These machines make roads – can’t they have their own lanes in all this mess?

If we trust, why stay so far back?

There is hope where there are gigantic road projects: last week I was in Grapevine, headed to the historic downtown for the farmers market. There's been a ton of construction up there, too, on 121, and it's an amazing (and much-needed) transformation. I still don't know how to get everywhere, but I love the new Main St. exit which took me directly where I wanted to be, without the traffic that used to be at the William D Tate exit.

Perhaps one day I’ll feel that way about 183 too! But for now I need to remember that my usual exit will close next week, for two months (ugh), and I will need to take an extra measure of patience with me when I drive to work. I read that on a flashing sign. Took me two different days to piece that message together…