Have You Hugged A Road Builder Today?
Voir en francais –
The following is an open letter to all highway road engineers, builders and maintainers to say thank you and to tell them that people find great pleasure from the work that they do. It is written from a rider’s perspective, but can also be applied to anyone with an appreciation for four, three or two wheels who likes to explore and meander along roads. Feel free to share this letter with your favourite road builder.
Dearest Road Builder,
Thank You. You are a true craftsperson. You have the skill, the knowledge and the power to shape the landscape. You are responsible for the movement of people, powered by engines (and sometimes not), from place to place. Your task has been founded upon principles of physics, efficiency, safety, economics, engineering, environmental sustainability and creativity. Road building has evolved significantly over time as vehicles and people have changed, but your passion to build the best roads has not waivered.
In the beginning your sole purpose was to ‘open up’ the land for prospectors, loggers and settlers to get access to the rich natural resources. You provided a way in for people, and a way out for their products to be shipped to market. Your job was harsh and unforgiving. You must have felt like an explorer; only better, as what lay behind you were roads that made it easy for everyone else to travel. The roads wound and curved their way across the landscapes, and though Mother Nature usually had the last word whether they were to be built or not, you always challenged her head on.
The benefactors of your efforts were many and they were gracious to you for giving them the ability to move with ease. Little did everyone realize, that some of those same roads…the roads that challenged you the most…those that were not straight, but wound around Mother Nature’s landscape, would become much sought after commodities.
Fast forward to today. People’s methods of travel have evolved (and of course sped up), since those first roads were opened. As a designer of the roads, you have had to keep up with technology. Today’s road building methods are different than those of yesteryear, and they put a high priority on efficiency. You are now required to design, re-design and re-build those very roads to the new modern standard. Often this means widening, straightening and sadly removing some of the character of those original roads. In a lot of cases this makes sense, if the main purpose of that road is to move efficiently from point A to point B.
But, as you would surely agree, there are many roads that have a much greater purpose than to simply move people and goods from place to place. These are the real roads, the much sought after driving and riding roads, the scenic routes and byways that give the users the same great pleasure you experienced in building them. It is these roads that shall never be straightened, that you are most proud of. It is for these roads that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely,
Motorcycle Riders of the World
Pingback: Avez-vous serré un constructeur routier dans vos bras aujourd’hui? – The Road Cut