Growing Pains
Life has taught me that there are many types of growing pains.
Like the kind Jacob is experiencing now as he grows into a teen. I declare he’s always sleeping when he shouldn’t be. I say it’s because he’s always up when he shouldn’t be, my neighbor and friend Barb says it’s because he is physically growing. She’s confident because she witnessed it with her now two adult sons who grew to be more than six feet tall.
Then there are the type of growing pains that I experience where the older I get the more pains I have. Over the past two years, I have developed a case of sciatica that plagues me without warning.
However, the growing pains that occupy my mind of late are that of the traffic delays due to road construction and repair. I’m on the road a lot as I commute here often. To that end, I pick Jacob up each afternoon from his designated drop spot on the days he doesn’t have after school events. Luckily a license and a car has alleviated that duty of me for Robyn.
In order for me to get Jacob in a timely manner in the afternoons during the 20 minute pickup window that means leaving in a timely fashion. On a good day, I can get from The News parking lot to the Porter Lot in 25 minutes. But that’s without me getting behind a slow moving hay tractor or vehicle processional, or a DOT traffic delay. Within the last few months it seems the delays are more frequent—everywhere. I advise anyone needing to make appointments out of town heading northbound to build in extra time because developments on all veins northbound have picked up.
Last month, I was headed for a school pick up on time when I hit a traffic block on Hwy. 11 that had cars backed up at least 30 cars deep. I gave it five minutes and rerouted myself to another stretch of highway. I didn’t make it in time and my baby found himself taking a small bus tour of Newton County and back at school two hours later. Just this week, I left 10 minutes earlier than usual and took a route I don’t usually try and guess what…traffic delay due to road construction. I made it there this time.
On the way back from Spring Break traveling through Atlanta we hit unusual traffic on I-285, I chalked it up to vacation travel because their lanes are usually pretty free flowing. But last weekend on a venture to Alpharetta it was just as congested, if not more, which was concerning. My sister Karen said it is Biden’s infrastructure plans in action. As cities grow in population so must their infrastructure to be able to sustain such.
You can see it too if you just look. More trees are vanishing from popular stretches of road. Some roads I have traveled for decades make me do double takes as the landscape has changed significantly.
Work is being done to revamp the exit ramps for 1-285 to I-20, it’s going to be grueling but welcomed by me. I hate taking that hard curve getting onto I-20 southbound. I can’t imagine how many people have gotten hurt, or worse died, making that transition with vehicles traveling way too fast and recklessly. The new exit looks to be less hazardous, though it might be a while before I know.
Nonetheless, I hope everyone just stays safe with all the traffic snafus. Make sure to have some of your favorite tunes on deck as the construction projects will surely produce traffic snarls into the foreseeable future, near and far.