Drive through the same highway work zone enough times and it might start to feel like a permanent part of your life — maybe even like an old friend.
Think about it:
- You’re accustomed to its presence — It has been there in the same place, day after day, for weeks or even months.
- It’s part of your routine — You add 10 or 15 minutes to your commute, to compensate for the work zone, without knowing you’re doing it.
- It’s a landmark — If you’ve ever said, “I’m almost to the work zone,” to share your location, the work zone is a permanent part of life.
We’ll stop short of calling work zones your friends, but the long life of some work zones still begs the question: Why does road work take so long?
There are lots of reasons:
What Lies Beneath
At InfraStripe, we love a crisply marked stretch of highway. After all, that’s one of the products we deliver to our clients around the nation every day. But beneath any smooth road surface, there’s a lot going on. Every road project has to consider what’s underground.
Water and sewer lines, electrical conduits, delicate communication lines, natural gas pipelines — road builders have to work around these essential utilities. To avoid disrupting these services, they have to plan ahead and work with utility providers. This takes time.
Weather
Many phases of road building need ideal weather conditions. Heavy rain, extreme heat, and extreme cold delay projects, extending the life of a work zone.
Coordination of Specialists
Like any other complex construction science, road building includes a lot of specialties. Our InfraStripe family of companies specializes in pavement marking, traffic planning, signage, and safety. Other companies demolish, grade, pave surfaces, and build bridges.
These interdependent services must be coordinated. Too many delays with one service provider can create a domino effect of delays that extend the life of a work zone.
Funding
Tax dollars fund most public road projects. For some projects, local, state, and federal authorities have an important role in approving and distributing tax money. Sometimes, delays in funding approval — or delays in fund distribution — stall a road project and keep work zones open longer.
Inspections
Public infrastructure must be inspected for safety and sustainability. Inspections help keep the important work of road building on track, but they also take time.
Safety
At InfraStripe, delivering on our infrastructure promises means delivering our core value of safety. We work safety into every conversation about every project, and we encourage everyone we work with to join this conversation.
And ultimately, safer road work — projects that do not cause accidents — is faster road work, meaning we can close work zones and return traffic to its normal pace sooner.