By Alexia McCulloch, newsdesk@bluebonnetnews.com
Every day, thousands of people drive the roads of Liberty County to get to work, run errands, or just to pass through, often not thinking about the back-breaking work that goes into maintaining them.
County road maintenance is a daily necessity for all citizens. When the Texas weather reaches triple digit temperatures in the summer, outside work that involves fixing culverts, digging out ditches and repairing potholes is no cake walk.
Oscar Secada, supervisor for Liberty County Pct. 1 Road and Bridge, showed me some of the ins-and-outs of road maintenance on Tuesday, June 20.
We began the morning at a property on County Road 443 near the Pct. 1 Road and Bridge office in the Westlake area south of Dayton, where county workers were installing culverts to prepare for future FEMA use. The property will be used to store materials.
The previous culverts before Tuesday’s work were too narrow for the wide turns required by large dump trucks. All of the prep work and digging out of the ditches to prepare for the setting in of the culvert had mostly been done before Tuesday morning, so the men working on this project were able to wrap it up before the heat of the day.
We left them to their work, and then it was time to get to the nitty-gritty. I was given my own special outfit, which included a bright yellow vest, bright orange hat and coordinating gloves. I looked like a walking highlighter, but everyone could see me!
We went to the next location in a cul-de-sac where the elevation of a culvert was affecting drainage in someone’s yard. Oscar and I used something called a transit to measure the elevation of the culverts at different driveways in the area. We did this to know how much dirt should be packed before placing the culverts back where they belong.
A driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac was flooding the homeowner’s yard every time a rain came along. This was the result of their culvert being too low and allowing water to back up on that property as well as neighboring properties. The residents made a request to get it fixed, and the folks at the Pct. 1 Road and Bridge did their best to do so.
After the culverts had been set in the correct place and with the correct elevation, we went back to the Road and Bridge office and started up the truck used for fixing potholes. I am absolutely not a mechanic, and know less about vehicles than probably everyone, but I was encouraged to participate in Oscar’s pre-trip vehicle inspection.
As he checked off items on the inspection, I pretended to know what things were and meant, and what a good oil level looks like. Then we were on our way to Indian Ridge to fix a pothole. On the way, Oscar and I talked about why he likes this job so much.
“I would rather be out here, seeing the sunrise, than in a cubicle somewhere. We’re actually able to solve problems for people, and they really appreciate it. People normally aren’t angry at us. They’re just fed up because they feel like they’ve fallen by the wayside, so I do my best to really listen to people’s issues and fix them if we can,” he said.
When asked about the most challenging part of his job, he struggled for an answer until finally settling on the heat of the summer and not being able to help residents with every problem.
In a manual labor job where the work never ends, the Texas temperatures can be a challenge, regardless of season. Precautions must be taken during the hottest parts of the day.
Fixing a pothole, I learned, is relatively straight-forward (at least in my experience on Tuesday). After raking off extra gravel, we shoveled cold patch asphalt onto the area, leveled it out and then ran it over with the truck to compact it.
I came away from this experience with a new respect for the men and women who make all of our lives better by maintaining the roads, ditches and bridges. It can be a thankless job.
Hopefully after reading this “Day in the Life” article, the next time you see a sign that says “Road Work Ahead,” you will remember that behind the barriers and cones are real people who deserve our respect and admiration.
Slow down, drive cautiously, and be patient. A little bit of kindness can go a long way. Maybe the next time you pass, offer a smile, wave, or a friendly gesture of appreciation. You’ll be surprised how far a simple thank you or thumbs up can go.
Note: If you have a job to suggest for the “Day in the Life” series, please send an email to Alexia at newsdesk@bluebonnetnews.com. A special thanks also to Pct. 1 Commissioner Bruce Karbowski for his assistance and cooperation for this article.
Thanks! to everyone who is working out in the hot sun to keep our cities,Dayton and Liberty Tx. And Texas in General, I pray for your safety and Protection, thank you ! again