Public Works

Back in the spring the a contractor for the city spent several weeks digging up our street and some of the surrounding ones for sewer work. Now a new contractor is working on lining the water main that runs under the street. In order to do this, temporary water lines were set up about a month ago; they run above ground across driveways and sidewalks, going just under the surface where they cross side streets.

Yesterday I got up around 7 to take the dog out. I came back and returned to bed, and as I was drifting back to sleep a racket started up, coming through the closed bedroom windows. I soon figured out that an asphalt saw and a jackhammer were being applied to the pavement in front of our house. It was probably close to an hour before things settled down enough that I could fall asleep again.

What I can't figure out is why this work was being done on a holiday. There doesn't seem to be any urgency around the project in general; once the temporary water lines were set up and the houses were connected to them, nothing happened for a couple of weeks, then I started noticing workmen around the neighborhood, but whatever they were doing, it seemed like they were doing it in a rather leisurely way.

I expected the noise to return today, but I didn't hear anything and didn't get awakened; when I got up the workmen were digging, but they were set up several houses away. so, on it goes.