Thursday, January 3, 2013

A Tale of Two Drives

It is 420 miles to my mom's house: highway through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia again and Ohio, with the last 60 or so miles on a state route.
Yesterday when i drove home it took 6 hours and 45 minutes.
Driving there almost 2 weeks ago, however, took 12 hours and 15 minutes.
You see, it was snowing.
Not blizzard conditions, get out all the work crews, close the roads snowing, but steady, maybe we don't really need to salt the roads, doesn't look like a big deal so people drive like idiots snowing.
There was a fair number of accidents and by nighttime I-70 was actually a parking lot; i was playing MahJong on my laptop.
Plus, i had to go through Pennsylvania.
I hate PennDOT with a burning hatred of hate normally reserved for lima beans and people who wrongfully park in handicapped spaces.
PennDOT only plowed and salted to the last exit of I-70 in Pennsylvania, not to the PA state line.
Good luck with that drivers; maybe you should have stayed in PA instead of making a break for Wild and Wonderful West Virginia, they say laughing maniacally.
And that wasn't the only amazing PennDOT questionable call.
It was the Friday afternoon of a holiday travel weekend at the major juncture of two interstates (I-70 and I-79) in a snowstorm and there were lane closures due to construction.
Construction, people.
Late Friday afternoon.
Holiday travel weekend.
Snowstorm.
There was no freaking construction.
But there were a lot of cars smooshing down into one lane for absolutely no reason.
The best part? When i drove through on a bright, clear, sunny, ordinary Wednesday all the lanes were open even though all the construction equipment was still there, no work appeared to have been done and there was about one tenth the volume of traffic.
Well played, PennDOT; you continue to do the Confederacy of Evil Masterminds proud.

Holiday traffic.
Snow. Lanes closed on the highway.
PennDOT hates drivers.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

5 hour trip north to Syracuse.
7.5 hours to get there.
10.25 hours to get home.

Rea said...

But Lima beans aren't evil....

I did LOL at your rant about the no plowing between the exit and WV!

Anonymous said...

ohhhh no - lima beans are SO evil! squishy nasty texture that the taste just doesn't help....
and Niki - ALL states have stupid construction people...I'm just sorry you had to experience it. Happily you got there & back all safe and sound :-D
Sheryl