Local construction traffic causes some students to be late

How+Exit+131+will+look+after+the+construction+work+is+finished.+The+project+is+expected+to+be+done+in+fall+of+2019.

How Exit 131 will look after the construction work is finished. The project is expected to be done in fall of 2019.

Gabriella Gonzalez, Contributing Writer

Sitting in traffic on a busy Monday morning is not ideal. Monday is when work usually starts up for another week. Students also return to school on Monday. People bustling to get to their respective workplaces do not want to be stuck in a traffic jam. With the construction on Route 17 and Exit 131, however, traffic is exactly what these workers must sit through.

Recently, the construction work has been causing many problems for the residents near Route 17 and Exit 131, beyond just traffic.

The residents usually face these traffic jams and even frequent accidents.

“[I] was going to school one day and the traffic was pretty bad. I left at like, 6:55-ish, and ended up getting there at 7:10. I was pretty [upset] about that,” said Melanie Peralta, a student who lives near the construction work.

Accidents, too, are common in the construction zone. In one incident, a traffic light went out due to the construction. This ended up causing accidents in the area and increasing traffic.

One student named Kimberly Marquez almost got into an accident. She said that the light was out when she was on her way to school and was almost hit by someone who didn’t see the crossing guard directing the traffic. She was fine, but it delayed her from getting to school on time.

Despite the inability of the students to do anything about this situation, teachers sometimes reprimand the students for coming in late despite the fact that traffic was the reason for their delayed arrival.

Students are not the only ones affected by the traffic and accidents. Teachers have also been late to work. Although the teachers usually are not late enough to miss their classes, they do lose a fair amount of time that could be used to help students learn.

Ms. Johnson, a teacher at Monroe-Woodbury High School, said that the traffic was unbelievable on her way to work. She said that she was lucky she made it on time, with a few minutes to spare. She said that the problem is too out of hand and that if teachers are being affected by it, then it is a real concern the school should take into consideration.

Despite the backlash for the construction, it is not intended to affect school buses and make students late.

“We are messing up everyone’s commutes and I get they’re mad now, but we’re workers like them,” said construction worker Francisco Gomez. “We have to get paid, too.”

“The construction is supposed to help the citizens which is something the frustrated people don’t get. Like I get it’s really stupid you have to wait in traffic, but give us a couple of months and then it’ll be back to normal,” said another worker named Joseph Chavez.

Both workers said that they expect the construction to be done by this fall.