Pippin roadwork: 'It's like a demolition derby out there'

The section of Pippin Road between Compton and Adams roads is limited to one-way, southbound traffic as construction in the area is underway.

You couldn't swear by the drivers you see ignoring the lane closures, though. 

"It's like a demolition derby out there," said Scott Smith, an inspector for Hamilton County Engineer's Office. Smith said he watches cars go north, which is not permitted, all day long.

Pippin Road is in the midst of a series of road reconstruction projects. Currently, there is $6 million in reconstruction work including slide correction underway in the section between Galbraith and Compton Roads and on the section between Compton and Adams Road, as well.  

Smith just finished work on the worksite on the north section of Pippin Road between Adams and Springdale roads. Smith said he's not surprised when a driver sees the sign barring northbound traffic, makes a right-hand turn to travel north on the one-way section and flips workers off as he passes.

"He does it all the time," Smith said.

And it's nothing new. Smith said motorists ignoring signs closing the section of Pippin Road between Adams and Springdale roads was a regular occurrence and there were a number of accidents during the months that section of Pippin was closed.

The northern section of Pippin Road, a reconstruction project by Sunesis that cost more than $6.4 million, is mostly complete, and both lanes of that section of Pippin Road are now open. The traffic signal at Pippin and Adams roads isn't operational yet, and won't be until the widening project on Pippin Road between Adams and Compton roads is complete, which is expected to be sometime in November, weather permitting.

But Smith said in 33 years of working on county road projects, he can't recall one with so many scofflaws and so much disregard for a posted road closing.

"I have never been on a project like this," he said. "We had a lot of close calls. Wrecks were a regular thing. And some of them were bad – we had two rollovers that happened on a road that was posted as closed. It was crazy." 

The level of anger of drivers being inconvenienced has been unprecedented, he said. And there was a clear lack of understanding as to what "local traffic only" meant.

"For the record, local traffic is if you live in the work zone," he said. "Not nearby. Not on a street off the work zone unless it's the only way to access your street."

The folks at Motor City Tire on Pippin Road as it curves into Adams Road say they have witnessed accidents and close calls in the construction areas.

"The road needs this widening," Bill Wesley said. "And I will be glad to see the sidewalks in."

Bill Brannan watched on a recent Saturday afternoon as car after car ignored the signs. "Some of them drove all the way through from Compton Road," he said. 

Hamilton County Engineer Ted Hubbard said the culture has changed, and people seem to get angry more quickly. "It's me now," he said.

Hubbard said work on the section of Pippin from Galbraith Road to Compton Road is being done by Sunesis Construction and will not be complete until November 2018. When it's done, just under three miles of Pippin Road from Galbraith Road to Springdale Road will be essentially rebuilt with a price tag of more than $12 million.

He warned there are more closures coming. "There will be closures in January or February," he said. "I know it's a headache, but it will be worth it. And it's a much better roadway with gutters and sidewalks.

"Pippin Road is going to be nice."