Although a recent editorial I wrote outlined why detours aren’t always a bad thing, when you run into three in one drive – that can be a little ridiculous.

I can’t say I wasn’t warned on two of the detours, one being the Route 47 bridge in South Hadley, which I followed closely for a story in the Town Reminder. I knew almost each step of the construction process, and when the signs were finally uncovered I took it for what it was.
The second detour warning couldn’t be missed either. For weeks a giant flashing safety sign on Bridge Road in Northampton warned me of the “expected delays” and “possible detours” beginning on Aug. 13. Well, like the sign promised I was greeted with that detour on Wednesday, and will see it for the next few weeks.

The third detour couldn’t have been planned though. Florence Street in Leeds was closed for a few days and traffic was detoured due to a water main break and a giant portion of the road collapsing in. My drive to work on Wednesday included those three detours, but surprisingly I didn’t even realize it until later in the day when detours were brought up in conversation. One detour, well that can be something new. Two detours, a little more annoying. But three detours, that’s just ridiculous.

Although I tried to look upon the detour(s) as something new, which would bring some change to my morning trek to work – Wednesday changed everything. I got stuck behind motorists who were clearly lost and confused by being sent on the less traveled way through the city, and I completely forgot about the first detour on my trip and had to turn around at the dilapidated DPW blockade on Florence Street.

As I explained to my husband about the three detours I encountered on my way to work, he tried to tell me the first detour didn’t count, because traffic wasn’t backed up and no one was lost. Well, I beg to differ. I was detoured a different route, thus making a detour. Right? Even with the three detours my trip only ended up taking an extra five minutes or so, so I can’t complain too much.

Two of the detours were planned to make repairs to roadways and a bridge and one was to repair serious damage to a roadway. This situation only reminds me of the horrible conditions that many roads in the state are in. Unfortunately, for the necessary repairs to be made – the detours must exist.

I invite readers of this blog to share online your own frustrations with local roads and bridges. Did you lose a chasse on one? Is that crumbling bridge a disaster in the making? Did that pothole jar loose your latest dental work? Has your detour caused undue angst?

We all have traffic woes and roads to avoid. By sharing our collective frustrations, perhaps those charged with selecting which roads are repaired each year during ever-dwindling Chapter 90 budget times will at least listen.

Let’s drive our problematic local roads together.