Construction junction, what's your function?
My day got made when I started my car this morning: My check engine light finally turned off. Woo-hoo! I'd been low on gas when it went on, so that might have been it, especially with how warm it got over the weekend. It was like July. Then, two days later, it was like March. I'm not sure we even hit 50F on Wednesday, which sucked for my coworker's family, as his daughter graduated from high school that night...and they still kept the ceremony outdoors. Why? It rained, too. Yes, let's get everyone sick just so they don't have to cram into the gym! That's the smart move.
Meanwhile, my driving headaches aren't over. Two new construction projects started this week on my route to work. One, I'm not entirely sure of what they're doing. This is in West Chicago at 38 and Fabyan. They've been putting in new power line poles for a while now, going back probably a couple months, and recently they sliced off the tops of the original poles, though they're still there. On the north side of 38, there had been what looked like utility work going on for a while, then a few weeks ago a bunch of parkway trees came down, and the gas station on the corner of 38 and Washington (Fabyan changes names right there) had to take down its price sign and they're using a temporary, movable one currently. It was around that time that I realized there was probably a space the width of a lane of traffic between the old and new power poles. Hmm, curious about what they're doing, but since it's DuPage County it hasn't appeared in the Chronicle, which is dumb because it's only a mile outside the county line and you take both those streets into the Tri-Cities. Anyway, this week the orange barrels went up and there has been a lot of digging on the south side of 38, where there are farm fields. It looks like the streets are being widened, which might be exciting, but who knows how long that will take. All I know is that there was this big ol' truck on Fabyan immediately south of 38, sitting there as a front loader dumped dirt in the back, and it caused everyone going south/west on Fabyan to have to cross over into the left-hand turn lane for northbound Fabyan, which isn't exactly safe.
Farther down in Warrenville, another bridge is being replaced. The first one was the Williams Road bridge over the DuPage River. I never take that road, but I cross it and can see the work being done; yeah, there's no bridge there, but there's *something*, because it's not like there's a gaping hole and then there's water. It's kind of interesting but it doesn't really seem like the project is progressing, which must be frustrating for the people who'd normally use the road. There are three houses and a church off the portion I pass, so they're dealing with this for the foreseeable future. And now, down the line, another bridge is getting a makeover--and it's the one I *do* use, the one on Warrenville Road. It just got blocked off yesterday, and on the way home Wednesday I could see some of the trucks staging the signs and barricades. Poor Walgreens on the corner of Warrenville and Winfield; their marquee, which usually lists sale items, now states that it's open. You can get to it off Winfield Road, but a fair amount of people go in there from Warrenville. The barricades make it hard to get there and the gas station across the street, which are the only businesses there before the bridge. Most of the businesses west of the bridge are still accessible, though the pizza pub that's basically on the river is probably hard to get to. This morning, another big ol' truck was blocking the road in front of it in such a way that the cars going north on River Road, which is part of the posted detour, couldn't properly turn back on to Warrenville. It was awkward for them. For me, I now have to go through a school zone, which is mildly annoying, but it's very short and otherwise the trip down River is pleasant. It's making my trip about a mile longer than normal on the way there. On the way home, I take Winfield to Mack to 59, which adds only a half mile and is also pleasant since it's semi-rural and crosses part of a forest preserve. I don't take it on the way there because I'd like to see the progress of the bridge work so I know when I can resume my normal route. By taking both ways, I can really keep an eye on things.
Meanwhile, my driving headaches aren't over. Two new construction projects started this week on my route to work. One, I'm not entirely sure of what they're doing. This is in West Chicago at 38 and Fabyan. They've been putting in new power line poles for a while now, going back probably a couple months, and recently they sliced off the tops of the original poles, though they're still there. On the north side of 38, there had been what looked like utility work going on for a while, then a few weeks ago a bunch of parkway trees came down, and the gas station on the corner of 38 and Washington (Fabyan changes names right there) had to take down its price sign and they're using a temporary, movable one currently. It was around that time that I realized there was probably a space the width of a lane of traffic between the old and new power poles. Hmm, curious about what they're doing, but since it's DuPage County it hasn't appeared in the Chronicle, which is dumb because it's only a mile outside the county line and you take both those streets into the Tri-Cities. Anyway, this week the orange barrels went up and there has been a lot of digging on the south side of 38, where there are farm fields. It looks like the streets are being widened, which might be exciting, but who knows how long that will take. All I know is that there was this big ol' truck on Fabyan immediately south of 38, sitting there as a front loader dumped dirt in the back, and it caused everyone going south/west on Fabyan to have to cross over into the left-hand turn lane for northbound Fabyan, which isn't exactly safe.
Farther down in Warrenville, another bridge is being replaced. The first one was the Williams Road bridge over the DuPage River. I never take that road, but I cross it and can see the work being done; yeah, there's no bridge there, but there's *something*, because it's not like there's a gaping hole and then there's water. It's kind of interesting but it doesn't really seem like the project is progressing, which must be frustrating for the people who'd normally use the road. There are three houses and a church off the portion I pass, so they're dealing with this for the foreseeable future. And now, down the line, another bridge is getting a makeover--and it's the one I *do* use, the one on Warrenville Road. It just got blocked off yesterday, and on the way home Wednesday I could see some of the trucks staging the signs and barricades. Poor Walgreens on the corner of Warrenville and Winfield; their marquee, which usually lists sale items, now states that it's open. You can get to it off Winfield Road, but a fair amount of people go in there from Warrenville. The barricades make it hard to get there and the gas station across the street, which are the only businesses there before the bridge. Most of the businesses west of the bridge are still accessible, though the pizza pub that's basically on the river is probably hard to get to. This morning, another big ol' truck was blocking the road in front of it in such a way that the cars going north on River Road, which is part of the posted detour, couldn't properly turn back on to Warrenville. It was awkward for them. For me, I now have to go through a school zone, which is mildly annoying, but it's very short and otherwise the trip down River is pleasant. It's making my trip about a mile longer than normal on the way there. On the way home, I take Winfield to Mack to 59, which adds only a half mile and is also pleasant since it's semi-rural and crosses part of a forest preserve. I don't take it on the way there because I'd like to see the progress of the bridge work so I know when I can resume my normal route. By taking both ways, I can really keep an eye on things.