Re: "North-end construction a puzzling mess," Letters, The Gazette, Nov. 3.
From experience, having previously worked in road construction I can see what Mr. Dave Barton is getting at and I'm sure more than a few drivers feel the same way. But what most people don't realize is there's far more going on than what can be observed just by looking at the work zone as they drive through. Much of what happens is done in the background of the project, out of sight of the public.
Pre-loading is the most obvious example. In this case, the roadbed is allowed to naturally settle while geotechincal engineers monitor. In this instance, there's the perception of nothing happening, aside from what appears to be the occasional survey crew working. The information they obtain is sent on to the relevant people who analyze the information before forwarding it on to the crews who will ultimately make the required adjustments.
"At times, 10 original lanes are reduced to two. Lane divisions are almost imperceptible. Traffic lights are not taking into consideration the mess that has been created."
This one is fairly tricky, as those responsible for traffic control within the work zone work with the information on traffic volume provided at the start of the project as well as adapt to the day-to-day needs of construction crews. There's no easy solution to this, unfortunately.
"It looks to me like the construction firm just does whatever, whenever they want. Does no one at the city have any say in this?"
The city has limited say in this, as the highway is the jurisdiction of the province and thus, it's the province that has the final say on what happens. The city and the province do work together to try to come up with a plan that will best accommodate all involved. Unfortunately, there's only so much that can reasonably be done in that regard.
At the end of the day, the public only sees a fraction of what actually goes on at a road construction site, and as much as all involved would like to get it done as quickly as possible, it's just not practical. All people can do is be patient and look forward to the project's completion.
Gordon Anderson, Kamloops, B.C
