Question about road construction...

[TFOGGER]

Construction zone rant on:

1) People that see the closed lane signs for a mile and a half, but insist on screaming up the lane that is going to be closed all the way up to the cones, and then barge right into the next lane, thereby absolutely destroying any type of traffic flow, need to be cited, convicted, and vaporized, on the spot.

2) Crews that are working at night on one side of the interstate need to focus their trillion candlepower worklights ON THEIR WORK AREA, not aim them into the eyes of drivers on the opposite side of the highway.

3) Just because there is a lane closure does not mean you should set up lawn chairs and a barbecue grill as you pass through the work zone. Stopping and gawking at the water main break isn't helping to fix it. Move along at a safe speed, and pay fucking attention to the vehicle in front of you, so you don't asshole it and create an even bigger traffic snarl.

4) Work zones should have the ability to jam all cell phone signals within a 250 ft radius.

[Ronin13]

BP, well said, like I said, I understand it, and I follow the law- we didn't have cops or cop cars while I was working with the Jeffco paving crew back when I was younger, we pretty much had a really big guy with a slow/stop sign and we all pretty much vowed to stop and beat a driver to death if he got hit by a stupid person.

Ok...I am not much of a ranted but here goes.

So they come out and rip everything up and put up signs about construction zones and lower the speed limit...and then abandon the site for a good 6 months. No work gets done. None of the equipment moves. No one there even surveying. Nothing. Frankly I begin to suspect this is nothing but an excuse to lower speed limits.

Revenue generation. I guess they're not paid by the job but paid by the days they work. I agree with this, and I hate it. They've had 3 projects over by my place since I moved in last Sept! One is the Lakewood lightrail due to be complete in oh about 15 years. The other is more work on a intersection off 6th and Simms that they completed some time ago and are now doing something else on (????). And then another that calls for lane closures but I never see anything being done, or any changes to the scenery... ?

Construction zone rant on:

1) People that see the closed lane signs for a mile and a half, but insist on screaming up the lane that is going to be closed all the way up to the cones, and then barge right into the next lane, thereby absolutely destroying any type of traffic flow, need to be cites, convicted, and vaporized, on the spot.

2) Crews that are working at night on one side of the interstate need to focus their trillion candlepower worklights ON THEIR WORK AREA, not aim them into the eyes of drivers on the opposite side of the highway.

3) Just because there is a lane closure does not mean you should set up lawn chairs and a barbecue grill as you pass through the work zone. Stopping and gawking at the water main break isn't helping to fix it. Move along at a safe speed, and pay fucking attention to the vehicle in front of you, so you don't asshole it and create an even bigger traffic snarl.

4) Work zones should have the ability to jam all cell phone signals within a 250 ft radius.

+1! I like the way you think! It's about 5% construction (and whoever is giving these guys a freaking decade to get the project done) and 95% idiot drivers who aren't considerate, that screw the whole system up!

[Big Wall]

In Idaho Springs the PD got a gov. grant to sit in the construction zone with their lights on.

[Ronin13]

In Idaho Springs the PD got a gov. grant to sit in the construction zone with their lights on.

I just saw CSP yesterday sitting just off of 6th and Federal. Looks like a good way to kill some downtime and put them to use, but cuts back on them out patrolling and preventing traffic crime or what have you... My feelings on this are very mixed.

[lpgasman]

This is something that really buggs the hell out of my wife. We can be entering a construction zone speed of 30 MPH and can slow down to an absolute crawl (like 5 MPH to almost a complete stop) and the flagman will still wave his arms frantically to go even slower. Guess they are like robots or zombies.

Glad I'm not the only one.

[lpgasman]

It's all about the cardio man. You have to get the arms and legs going in a vigorous manner

Too bad they can't do anything for the brain.

[car-15]

I just saw CSP yesterday sitting just off of 6th and Federal. Looks like a good way to kill some downtime and put them to use, but cuts back on them out patrolling and preventing traffic crime or what have you... My feelings on this are very mixed.

I could be wrong but iirc off duty csp get paid by the construction companys to just sit there for the visual effect.

[BlasterBob]

I could be wrong but iirc off duty csp get paid by the construction companys to just sit there for the visual effect.

I believe that is correct. Do you think that the cop is paying, out of his own pocket, for all the fuel consumed while sitting there watching traffic? Doesn't a vehicle usually use quite a bit of fuel when just sitting idling for hours? I do NOT want to make this sound like I am bashing any cops!!!!!!

[OneGuy67]

I could be wrong but iirc off duty csp get paid by the construction companys to just sit there for the visual effect.

You are correct.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

Yes, there are real life police officers sitting in those cars in the construction zones. It is an off-duty assignment, and they are paid hourly by the construction contractor, so it is not actually a case of on-duty personnel being assigned to sit in the construction zone. The vehicles and gas are all supplied by the contractor as well, so your city is not paying to staff the construction zones. (Although, realistically, your tax dollars are still paying for it anyway, because all the road construction is being funded via federal stimulus grants)

The main purpose of the officers, as already mentioned, is to provide a physical deterrent and increase safety. They also assist by completing reports for any incidents that happen in the construction zone, thus reducing the resource strain for on-duty officers. When you say that you saw a construction worker sitting in the police vehicle, what you probably actually saw was an officer wearing a safety vest over his uniform, which at quick glance would look just like a construction worker... only armed and grizzled.