08.19.2008 12:38 pm
Problems with the countdown signs
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Three signs counting down the days until Highway 40 (Interstate 64) reconstruction ends malfunction more often than they work. The countdown clock on westbound Highway 40 hear Kingshighway was taken down and sent back to the manufacturer again for repairs more than a month ago. This morning, the sign on westbound Highway 40 near I-270 was off by five days. It’s not the first time. The only sign that’s worked consistently is on Interstate 170. The signs and countdown clocks were paid for by Gateway Constructors, the team of contractors rebuilding Highway 40. Word is, they might come down for good if the countdown problems continue.
I’ve been wondering all along: Whose bright idea was it to think we’d want to know the exact number of days until the highway is completed? Counting the days till the highway is done is like counting the minutes till work is over: It just makes it feel that much longer.