The Encroaching Deconstruction

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

So the part of Enfield Road that runs through my neighborhood has been torn up since I moved back into the area last August. Back then, though, you could still drive both ways on Enfield — they just limited it to one lane each. Fine.

Then they reduced it to just one lane. One way. Heading east.

Then they torn up Enfield all the way out to Exposition and down to Lamar.

Then they tore up Lamar, blocking off most of the lanes between the river and 24th street, making driving on Lamar any time of the day or night — even 2AM — feel like driving in stop-and-go rush hour traffic.

Then they tore up 5th Street from Lamar a couple of blocks west. And a few other streets coming off of Lamar between 5th and 12th.

Then they started blocking off intersections along Enfield so you couldn’t turn into the side neighborhoods (like where I live now). These open and close, now, kind of randomly. Today: closed.

For a while the entire intersection at Enfield and West Lynn was blocked.

Now they’re coming up Woodlawn into my new neighborhood. And they’ve blocked off the access road leading from Enfield to Mo-Pac north.

Today they busted a water line and we had no water when I woke up. For things like shower and toothbrushing.

And we had no water when I went back home over lunch to shower.

And somehow, whenever I drive by, I see one guy doing something and, like, six guys standing around smoking or — better yet — holding the lame little “SLOW” sign-on-a-stick.

Holy fucking christ. They have better roads in Baghdad.