All Play and No Work?

Many people (like I myself for a number of years) were completely unaware of the existance of the Chain Bridge connecting Virginia and Maryland until traffic in the area suddenly got a whole lot worse when construction on the bridge began. Basically this three lane bridge adjusts the number of lanes into our out of DC/Maryland based on the time of day. In the morning there are two lanes towards the city and in the afternoon it is the opposite. Although this mini bridge tucked away down the river between the American Legion Bridge and the Key Bridge (closer to DC) are probably the bigger and better known bridges connecting the two states across the mighty Potomac River, not many people use it who don't have to.

Now I'm one of those who doesn't use the bridge on a regular basis but I have used it as an alternate route across the river when traffic is bad but with the closures on the bridge due to maintenance work expected to last many months, the residual effect on the neighboring roads and surrounding areas has been tremendous. Maintenance is something that can't be avoided, especially on older bridges like this one and I'm sure that these bridges need (and deserve) the maintenance they are receiving but what vexes me (and many other drivers in the area) is why there appears to be nothing going on on the bridge other than lane closures. Drive on the bridge most any day and you'll find the bridge devoid of workers or equipment.

The transportation department responded to claims in the media that no work is going on by explaining that much of the work is currently going on underneath the bridge but for those of us crawling along on the road it's sometimes disheartening to sit in traffic for something we don't know the cause of and then see nothing but empty road with no work being done. I mean as mean as it may sound, when you know you're stuck in traffic for miles and miles for some accident or other reason that you can't quite see, you begin to hope in some small portion of your brain that the incident that has caused the delay will be 'worth it'. And by 'worth it' I don't mean necessarily death and destruction but at least finding something of significance to help you justify why you sat in slow traffic for so long.

Similarly when you're sitting in traffic with the signs of construction posted all over the place, you assume that there must be some significant work being done. I think the unfortunate thing is that by the time many of us drive past these sites, the construction crews are either finishing for the day or haven't started on the night shift and they're all just sitting around shooting the breeze which can lead one to believe that there's no work being done whatsoever. Then is when you start getting frustrated and begin wondering what all the fuss is about. The Chain Bridge is no exception. Though work is going on underneath and will make it safer for people driving it every day, I sometimes wish we could see what was happening to make our commutes so Hellish from time to time.