Construction in our Neighborhood

Predictability is undervalued by most of us... But I'm beginning to appreciate it more, as our neighborhood undergoes changes... and stretches of road that were there last week now no longer exist!.














The end of the street that leads to our house (in our normally quiet neighborhood) is being dug up by city crews replacing the main sewer pipes. The neighborhood is built on rock - so from time to time whistles warn of approaching dynamiting - we hear a boom - and for a moment or two the house shakes. (This happens several times a day.)

So at times I feel as if I am living on an island where earthquakes regularly occur, and I wonder if I'll be able to drive out of our dead-end street...

Why is this happening?!

A series of flooded basements a few years ago - our own included - caused the city to re-evaluate our neighborhood's drainage system. The neighborhood - created in the 1950s outside the then-city limits - depended on ditches to absorb most of the rain water. But the storm sewer pipes that were put in later to collect water from manholes on the main roads fed into the regular sewer system. And old the system couldn't hold it all in big rain storms.

Now they tell us that we will be getting a bigger state of the art storm sewer system - and it does look good. But I'm disappointed that we still won't have two separate systems like most neighborhoods do (one for street water, the other for domestic water)... Too expensive, City Hall tells us... My feeling is: Do it right the first time!

Most days I just hear them dynamiting. But on Saturday, they weren't working, so I went over to look around...














This round pipe with a hole on top might be the future manhole, when the road is filled in again.














These recycled tires are mats that cover the ground when dynamite is set off to break up the rock.














Roads are blocked - and unblocked - as the construction crews move through our neighborhood.

Driving out - and then back in again - is a challenge. Which roads will be blocked?! What new section of the road will be torn up? Which part filled in with crushed rock?

Which maze will lead back to our street?!














This construction is expected to last all summer...

It's chaos like this that makes me appreciate our quiet predictable norm!