[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: That Which is Rewarded gets Done

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
That Which is Rewarded gets Done
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1186717766.shtml


   In an era of paying young school children to do what they should do
   anyway, maybe we don't have the right incentive packages for droll
   tasks like road repair. Several have noted that politicians are geared
   toward announcing grants and cutting ribbons for new stuff, not
   refurbishing old stuff.
   Maybe we need more ceremonies for maintenance, which dovetails with
   another theory of mine.
   Too often it seems to me, we try to do maintenance on open roads roads
   and bridges. That is, we close or reroute a lane or two, but otherwise
   keep them partially open. Maybe we should just close them outright,
   get it done all at once and quickly, then reopen - with a ribbon
   cutting ceremony so the politicians can take some credit.
   I'm talking about the big projects, like resurfacing, not restriping.
   This would be safer for the workers, too.
   The I-35W bridge is gone, yet traffic isn't paralyzed as a few
   expected. A number of simple changes and some common sense by drivers
   is doing a decent job so far. Why wouldn't this apply to some other
   large projects? Just let people know in advance, close it, fix it, and
   yes, celebrate a little. I think this beats crawling through such a
   zone on the one lane remaining open.