Whoever is in charge of the road concreting project in Barangays Sambag 1 and 2 deserves a shoutout.
They first destroyed a portion of Uytengsu St. Drilled holes. Cleared the old asphalt. Pounded the earth. And before they could pour the cement to complete the job, they started drilling holes into another part of the street and repeated the cycle.
It has been more than a month. Already. And they’re not finished.
Surely, they must have accomplished something during all that time. Well, they’ve managed to actually concrete 40 meters of road, more or less.
It’s amazing considering that more often than not I find the workers sleeping under the shade of a tree instead of being, you know, at work. Not that I blame them. The weather has been bipolar these past few weeks. It’s either too hot and humid or it pours. And they do need to look after themselves. We are, after all, still in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic.
Which begs me to question? Why did they wait for the rainy season to start the project?
They knew that with the weather, their work would be intermittent. They wouldn’t have had that problem had they started during the summer when there was hardly any rain.
And what’s with the equipment? Is it for show? More often than not it’s lying idle. It took me awhile to realize what it was for because I hardly saw it being operated.
Luckily, traffic is not so bad but only because majority of the jeepneys that plied the Urgello route before the health crisis are not back on the road. They’ve been replaced by a handful of these modern jeeps, or beeps.
Also, with face-to-face classes still not allowed, there aren’t that many students.
To those not familiar with the area, it is home to the Southwestern University Phinma, which offers several medical courses and whatnot, and the Sacred Heart Hospital.
Both barangays’ population usually doubles during classes because many come from out of town. But because of the current situation, Urgello has been unusually quiet.
Which is probably why I am the only one ranting that the project is being implemented at a snail’s pace.
Residents who own cars but don’t have parking don’t have that problem now. So at least they’re happy. They don’t have to worry about getting towed. Or clamped. They can just leave their cars by the side of the road, in the middle of the road, wherever, because Ascencion St. (I think that’s what it’s called) that runs parallel to J. Urgello St. and intersects Uytengsu St. remains closed to traffic.
Children, too, are having the time of their lives after being cooped up inside their homes for more than a year. They play tag, ball and whatever it is that children today play without worrying about passing vehicles.
Apparently, drawn-out government projects have their advantages.