Roadwork and Damned Roadwork

Recently the City decided to alter the sidewalk at the corner of Mission and Modoc to make it accessible by wheelchairs. They began this work last Wednesday, and decided to close the right turn lane to Modoc during the project. This made one of the most inefficient and crowded intersections in the City worse.

By Friday, when the lane was still closed, I emailed the City Council and City Manager and asked them to address the situation. I guess they are all too busy running for re-election or supporting their friends as I did not get any response from the Council. The City Manager forwarded my email to the Public Works Department, and an engineer contacted me and told me that having the lane reopened on Friday was faster than normal as it usually takes five days for the concrete to cure.

I told the engineer that if it was possible for Caltrans to excavate and pour new concrete on the 101 overnight and have it ready for truck traffic by 6 a.m. the next morning, it was possible for the City to get this job done overnight. He agreed that there was a lack of planning in closing a lane at this busy intersection for several days and that they should have considered alternatives such as doing this work on a weekend or using faster-curing concrete.

It is my hope that the City will do a better job of planning these projects in the future.