Post-Construction Tweaks

[nwi_navigator_1181]

I know it happens often in my area, but have there been instances when construction crews make a minor design change long after the major work of the project has been completed?

For example, a section of Broadway (Indiana 53) was re-done with improvements to the surface and intersections. The intersections between U.S. 231 and 93rd Avenue were outfitted with dedicated turn lanes and protected left turn signals. Southbound traffic between 109th and 113th Avenue had a second lane to increase traffic flow.

Today, northbound traffic has a second through lane (what was a solid white line for right turn traffic is now dashed lines due to grinding), and all the traffic lights are replaced with doghouse signals, allowing traffic to turn left after yielding to opposite traffic.

Feel free to discuss, and thanks in advance for your responses.

[CentralCAroadgeek]

US-101 in San Jose had a major construction project (Tully Rd.) not so long after a big repaving project between CA-85 and points north. The Tully Road project caused lane realignments on the fresh new asphalt and required an even newer repaving when the project was completed. I don't know about the upcoming Capitol Expwy. project though...

[Alps]

CR 527 in Livingston, NJ has a brief 2-lane queuing space at McClellan Ave., narrowing down to 1 lane on either side.
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.808076,-74.312435&spn=0.002026,0.00486&sll=37.6,-95.665&sspn=34.512672,79.628906&t=k&z=18
Now, scroll north and you'll see that it widens out again to a four-lane divided road at the I-280 interchange, remaining so for about half a mile. Well, after a recent repaving job, the contractors mistakenly left a 2-lane NB roadway from McClellan straight through to I-280, instead of the merge to 1 and then widening to 2 again. This was wonderful. However, the way Livingston Avenue works is that it's always 1 lane each way in residential areas and 2 lanes each way in commercial areas, so the second lane had to go. It ended up being a post-construction tweak, but only to fix an error that initially went undiscovered.

[vdeane]

The Sea Breeze Dr project with NY 590 did this.  It was designed from Titus to Culver as if the lane situation to the south were to remain unchanged (ie four lanes south of Titus).  When the project was completed, NYSDOT suddenly decided to re-stripe NY 590 around NY 104 and make it a super 2 after the last ramp to NY 104 diverges.  This makes sense... except the road was designed for six lanes until Ridge Rd and four until Titus, making it painfully obvious that there once were additional lanes and making the 2 lane roundabout go from logical to stupid.  In one place, pavement that was added for a RIRO in the project was rendered unnecessary.  Fortunately people realized this was stupid, and forced NYSDOT to change it.  It's fine now northbound, but southbound is still one lane between Ridge Rd and NY 104, at which point the lane ends and traffic is forced to merge from NY 590 south onto NY 590 south.

[myosh_tino]

US-101 in San Jose had a major construction project (Tully Rd.) not so long after a big repaving project between CA-85 and points north. The Tully Road project caused lane realignments on the fresh new asphalt and required an even newer repaving when the project was completed. I don't know about the upcoming Capitol Expwy. project though...

Acutally, Caltrans never laid the final layer of asphalt on US 101 in and around the Tully Road interchange until after construction was completed.  Having driven that section of US 101 often, there were noticeable "bumps" in the pavement shortly after traffic from 280/680 merge onto 101 and just before the Capitol Expwy exit.

What you were driving on was an intermediate layer of asphalt that Caltrans puts down before laying the final layer.  Another indicator was north and south of Tully, lane lines were a combination of paint and botts dots but within the construction zone, they only used paint.