Tweet
*mods, if this story doesn't fit in here, feel free to move it...
Anyhow, I just got off the phone with DH, with him telling me about the funny and not-so-funny happenings today. He works for a company that rents out traffic control equipment to utility companies, construction companies, cities, counties, the state, anyone who needs temporary lane shifts, road closures, etc. They mostly deal with utility companies and cities. My husband is responsible for not only pick up and delivery of this equipment around the metro area, but 90% of the time, he sets it up to MNDoT required specs. There is actually a lot to know in his job.
Anyhow, there is a project that Xcel energy is doing down in one of the southern MN suburbs (nowhere near the I-35 bridge). I believe he said they are burying new lines and taking down old pole lines. Anyhow, this has been going on all summer and each phase takes around 2-3 weeks, depending on the amount of trees and/or tree roots they need to contend with. This is resulting in the temporary closure and detours of various well-traveled roads for that amount of time.
The problem is, the local people seem to think that these signs don't apply to them or that they can just sneak by and get away with disobeying them. What they don't know (of if they do, they think they won't get caught) it is VERY illegal to disobey construction signs. If you try to drive through one that says "Local traffic only" and you don't live there, or have any business there, and you are caught, it is a minimum $1000 fine. And if you move the sign yourself, and you are not an authorized person, it is $1500 and you could be looking at jail time. Problem is, the cops have enough to do, without having to babysit random intersections.
Last week, DH started having to check on the projects daily, because people have been moving signs, to get through. So, he started loading each the signs down with 10 sandbags that each weigh 60lbs. That didn't seem to stop people's desire to continue through this one particular intersection, because they started driving up onto the lawns of the people on the corner lots and go around! So, the owners of those lots started to complain to the city. The cops still didn't have the time to sit there and wait. So they told the owners of the properties they could put objects there on the corners, to deter the culprits. One of the owners just put his boat&trailer there. The other guy didn't have a boat or anything large enough to spare... so, what did he come up with? Home-made spike strips! The cops gave him permission to do it too!
He took some old wood boards and hammered several large nails in them, spraypainted the whole things bright red, and anchored them into the ground using corkscrew anchors.
Anyhow, I just got off the phone with DH, with him telling me about the funny and not-so-funny happenings today. He works for a company that rents out traffic control equipment to utility companies, construction companies, cities, counties, the state, anyone who needs temporary lane shifts, road closures, etc. They mostly deal with utility companies and cities. My husband is responsible for not only pick up and delivery of this equipment around the metro area, but 90% of the time, he sets it up to MNDoT required specs. There is actually a lot to know in his job.
Anyhow, there is a project that Xcel energy is doing down in one of the southern MN suburbs (nowhere near the I-35 bridge). I believe he said they are burying new lines and taking down old pole lines. Anyhow, this has been going on all summer and each phase takes around 2-3 weeks, depending on the amount of trees and/or tree roots they need to contend with. This is resulting in the temporary closure and detours of various well-traveled roads for that amount of time.
The problem is, the local people seem to think that these signs don't apply to them or that they can just sneak by and get away with disobeying them. What they don't know (of if they do, they think they won't get caught) it is VERY illegal to disobey construction signs. If you try to drive through one that says "Local traffic only" and you don't live there, or have any business there, and you are caught, it is a minimum $1000 fine. And if you move the sign yourself, and you are not an authorized person, it is $1500 and you could be looking at jail time. Problem is, the cops have enough to do, without having to babysit random intersections.
Last week, DH started having to check on the projects daily, because people have been moving signs, to get through. So, he started loading each the signs down with 10 sandbags that each weigh 60lbs. That didn't seem to stop people's desire to continue through this one particular intersection, because they started driving up onto the lawns of the people on the corner lots and go around! So, the owners of those lots started to complain to the city. The cops still didn't have the time to sit there and wait. So they told the owners of the properties they could put objects there on the corners, to deter the culprits. One of the owners just put his boat&trailer there. The other guy didn't have a boat or anything large enough to spare... so, what did he come up with? Home-made spike strips! The cops gave him permission to do it too!
He took some old wood boards and hammered several large nails in them, spraypainted the whole things bright red, and anchored them into the ground using corkscrew anchors.
Comment