Most of us are prepared for the inconvenience that comes with major road construction and, once the project is done, we expect to be able to make full use of the latest improvements. This turns out to be a wish that is a long time coming with the endless puttering that seems to follow. The latest example of this is the Mukilteo Speedway in the (pretentiously spelled) Harbour Pointe area.
It seems it was sometime last fall that the storm grates were finally placed. They were set on top of oversized sheets of tarpaper. This made it appear as if the gutters were littered with huge, black plastic garbage bags. This look has been maintained throughout the winter and well into spring with many of us wondering, “What is the next step, and why do we have to look at this eyesore condition for months on end?”
Is this actually how this project was planned? It’s equivalent to a person painting a room and leaving the dropcloth lying around until they finally decide they should move the furniture back into the room.
This is only one example of the many minor, perpetual projects that have accompanied the reconstruction of the speedway. Remember all the dickering around with the median area down by the Carriage Club Estates? For weeks on end one came upon a different orange cone configuration every day. The final results hardly warranted all the days spent. Is it just my imagination, or does it take longer to “accessorize” a roadway than it does to initially grade and lay the pavement? No wonder these projects cost so much. In the Navy we used to call this “milking a job.”
Thomas J. Munyon
Marysville
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