The problems with the I-295 construction aren’t in the repair work itself, but in the people driving through it. Miles of the major highway through New Jersey have been blocked off and squeezed in for repaving and other repairs continuing into 2012. The posted speed limit is 45 in most of the construction zones; outside it’s a harrowing 65.
People, however, pay little heed to signs. Since the police can’t do an effective job at stopping the masses of law breakers (how could they get into a lane to chase down somebody in a five-mile construction zone with no pulloff zones?), cars and trucks zoom through tight two-lane work areas at various speeds, and none under the posted one. Even the truckers, who should know better, make commuting a death-defying feat. On one memorable trip, a semi ahead of me in the right lane actually scraped the guardrails, and the smell and sounds of abused metal filled the cabin of my car. The rails had only been in service about two months, and already they look 20 years old.
Yesterday, however, I had the most enjoyable trip using I-295. Not only could I stay under 45 in the construction zone, but I also barely nudged my speed past 55-60 the rest of the way. The difference was the lack of rush hour traffic at the start of a holiday weekend. Sure, just about everybody passed me, because well established habits don’t get broken easily, but I was happy for a break from the stress of the Indy 500 in disguise.
I do feel for the commuters who hate driving the road on any day of the week. I also feel for the officers who really should be allowed to put pace cars in front of the traffic to get it down to a reasonable speed. I doubt anybody will consciously slow their cars down when the unpredictability of construction is putting such a measurable damper on the timing of their trips from day to day, but the only way to control what is out there is to set the example. As long as everybody goes along, nobody will have the benefit of a relaxing drive on a major highway, with or without construction.
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