What's Your Worst Road Construction Story?

Photo: Douglas Sacha (Getty Images)

Road construction is never convenient. Sure, everyone loves the results, but the process is a pain — roads get closed, traffic gets worse, and your already-frustrating commute gets longer and more stressful in equal measure.

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Every year, every construction season, those orange cones and reflective signs start to pop up like heads of the hydra. No matter how much work is completed, more patches of pavement always end up torn to shreds somewhere else on the road. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all had our run-ins with road work. Today’s question is: Who’s had it the worst?

Have you ever missed an event or been disciplined at work for lateness that was entirely out of your control? Have closed roads ever forced you through precarious alternate routes, where poor pavement and overgrown flora on the roadside threaten the very structural integrity of your vehicle?

My worst roadwork experience has nothing to do with closures — it’s all in the condition of the pavement when work is unfinished. I’ve run into countless stretches of road on my motorcycle where the road surface is disorienting, uneven, or downright concerning. Sure, some of this is my tires’ tendency to follow any tar snake they see, but there should simply be fewer tar snakes. Roads, hot take, should be smooth.

What’s your worst road construction story? Leave your answers in the comments, and we’ll collect our favorites later in the week.