Holy Traffic, Batman!

My pretty, little, quaint town has been experiencing horrific traffic gridlocks this week. We are a coastal town that is basically surrounded by water - rivers that feed into the ocean. The majority of the town is on one side of a river, with a series of barrier islands across two bridges. The large bridge was hit by a barge last week and closed due to damage. Which leaves literally tens of thousands of cars to travel across a two-lane swing bridge. There are some citizens who live on the islands - Fripp and Dataw and St. Helena Islands - who have sat in traffic for up to 3 hours before giving up and going home. They didn't even get to where they were going, they just turned around and went home! It is mind-boggling! There are businesses and gas stations on the islands that have also been affected - they cannot get deliveries because the swing bridge cannot accomodate large trucks, not to mention that delivery drivers just wont deliver because they cannot afford to sit in traffic all day and not make ANY of their deliveries.
I, fortunately, live in the main part of town, and the air station where my husband works is also on the mainland. Unfortunately, Georgia attends montessori school over on the island. My neighbor and I have begun carpooling, which has helped. We really wish that we had begun carpooling at the beginning of the year! It usually takes me 15 minutes to get Georgia to preschool and it is now taking 45 minutes or more!
The traffic backups have been affecting the whole town. Many people who work at the air station live on the islands and their commute is literally hours long and they are backed up all the way through town. The governor of our state happens to be married to the town's mayor (how about that!?!) and he did visit earlier this week, but didn't have alot to say. Rumors are that the bridge repairs could take 7 or 8 months to complete. They have altered traffic patterns every day in effort to find a better method of controlling traffic. And there are TONS of state troopers deployed here to help direct traffic, thank Goodness!
So, if you notice that I haven't been blogging or emailing as much, it is because I am probably sitting in my car, singing along with the radio, trying to pacify fussy babies, or talking on my cell phone. So, give me a call!