Florida Logic: Road Work Rant

"JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!" (jqj213) 11/02/2015 at 14:06 • Filed to: rant, roadwork, florida, wtf

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As most all of you know, I live in Florida. Even better though is the fact that I live in a snowbird and retiree town. Come late October, thousands flock from the cold North to enjoy our 90 degree Novembers. Well, our local government was brilliant. They decided to start massive amounts of roadwork...today!

So, here’s the plan. The main route to get anywhere in the county is US-41. In this particular section its 4 lanes across. This was fine for many years. But, as more and more people started showing up, and now with more and more houses being built (over 10,000 in the next few years), we need more space. So, they planned on widening this stretch to 6 lanes across.

Two years ago, they “started” by using eminent domain and buying all sorts of roadside businesses. They were demolished rather quickly. Then these lots sat... no one knows why. But tons of cleared land sat undeveloped for two years.

Fast forward to now. Season is almost in full effect. Snowbirds are outnumbering locals. This road, the main route to the beach, is packed. So, when do they decide to start construction? Today.

Lanes will be closed. Speed limits have already been reduced by 10 MPH. Congestion will be unbelievable. All the local businesses will suffer. This isn’t scheduled to be finished until Spring of 2018...

Why not start over the Summer, out of season? I’m sure it was cheaper but this is a total nightmare waiting to happen. Florida really is a special place.

Azrek > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:13

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I lived in Florida for 10 years and they didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then I moved to Maryland and folks in Florida may as well be geniuses compared to here.

Our roads have potholes installed throughout the winter due to excess salting and just poor materials. So they just started last month on fixing a large stretch of road that was as pockmarked as the moon. Well, it got ‘cold’ so they have stopped for 5 days now. So half the road is fixed and the other portions are grated or just torn up more than usual. We have to slow down as one section of fixed road is about 2 inches different in others so if you hit it head on, it jars all the fillings in your teeth.

I miss Florida. Enjoy it...

Rico > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:15

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Then these lots sat... no one knows why. But tons of cleared land sat undeveloped for two years.

Probably regulations, hell you need 100 permits to put a shovel in the ground.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:16

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...Because nobody wants to be pouring scalding hot pavement in the middle of a Florida summer?

CounterTorqueSteer > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:20

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Venice? Englewood? Sarasota?

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > CounterTorqueSteer 11/02/2015 at 14:22

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Venice.

They are tackling that stretch of 41 around Venice Avenue now to make it 6 lanes

Between all the new housing going in around 681 and Laurel Rd area we need it I guess. Just really bad planning

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Azrek 11/02/2015 at 14:27

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Maybe what you need is some pothole beautification!!!

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Rico 11/02/2015 at 14:28

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It just was so weird because one of the businesses they destroyed was a very popular beach store that was opened for over 20 years. They forced them to close so quickly and had that building destroyed within a week.

They easily could have stayed open for another year.

CounterTorqueSteer > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:29

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Good grief. I'll be down there in January. Not looking forward to that crud.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > CounterTorqueSteer 11/02/2015 at 14:37

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Assuming youre coming from the North in which case I shouldn’t tell you but will anyway:

75 is a nightmare. They have all that work started up at exit 213 (University Parkway) trying to make something called a diverging diamond. 4 PM Friday afternoon they had two lanes closed going South and one closed going North. Thursday all Northbound was closed from a fatal accident.

I think last week there was an accident every single day in that area that backed up traffic.

Hopefully Jacaranda Boulevard will be done soon. They’ve had that going for a month or so now. Finally repaving that shit. But every day they have one lane closed and you can’t move.

So basically if you are in Venice, they trapped you.

AfromanGTO > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:37

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I live on South Beach. The road work is completely stupid. They work on Alton, close down West completely, and make it so all the tourist and uber drivers get confused and stop in the middle of the roads. Plus they are shut down 95 S between the toll road exit and 195 for no good reason, and redirect you through North Miami to get back on 95 where cones are knocked over in the one travel lane.

B/Xmrrmvr > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:38

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This sounds like New Jersey.

cazzyodo > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:45

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This is just normal procedure for roadwork: wait and wait and wait then pick the most inappropriate time to do something.

Every year, without fail, my family’s town has construction start on the roadways outside one of the town schools. It happened to me in elementary school and makes absolutely 0 sense.

Ash78, voting early and often > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:52

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Mosquitos and heat exhaustion were supposed to keep these people out, but then we invented air conditioning, deet, citronella, and bifenthrin.

Now it’s up to our tax money and ill-conceived public works projects to keep the crowds limited to only the most hardcore Quebecois.

/native, escapee

Svend > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 14:54

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At least your likely to have road works actually be done.

In the U.K. you can drive for miles on the motorways with cones dividing up the roads for the road workers to work safely, yet you’ll be hard pushed on many occasions to see any machinery or workers there.

And they often time these for the busiest times of the year like the peak of summer and holidays.

Nisman > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 15:10

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Sounds like a nightmare. Luckily my family lives in Sarasota and my January trip will be unaffected.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Nisman 11/02/2015 at 15:14

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You just have to worry about University parkway and I-75. Thats a different mess!

Azrek > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 11/02/2015 at 15:24

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The flower one looks like a pothole I have to dodge on the onramp of the interstate. People don’t accelerate here anyway on the onramp, but watching folks nail that at sorta interstate speeds is painful.

CounterTorqueSteer > Nisman 11/02/2015 at 15:28

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I'll be in Sarasota in January also!

lunr > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 11/02/2015 at 16:23

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Huh, I didn’t know Michigan’s road commission / DOT managers also went to Florida for the winter.

Nisman > CounterTorqueSteer 11/02/2015 at 17:00

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Make sure you check out Cars and Coffee at the Porsche dealership on route 41. I can't recall if it was Saturday or Sunday though. I think it was 1st and 3rd.