Editorial: All these local road closing require us to be alert

First, it was the roads that were closed at the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks to give them time to replace the tracks and smooth the crossings as long-needed maintenance. Drivers are happy to get the tracks safe and crossings smooth, but what a project it was to find your way home. Sometimes, all the local crossings were closed.
One reader said when he tries to visit relatives in Taylor he gets hung up on closed railroad crossings in Huron Township and he worries about EMTs, police, and fire units that have to wait or take long detours. Someone could die.
Then, there’s the closure to “local traffic only” to a long stretch of Rawsonville Road, south of Willis, for ditch work. Then, there’s trying to get to medical appointments in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area, with Michigan Avenue closed eastbound from I-94.
And, I-275 is not closed but it’s been under rebuilding for months and the lane changes and lane closures are many in our area and often confusing.
The idea of driving somewhere lately has been just like a big crossword puzzle. It’s probably very good for our brains to have to think about what route we have to take to get where we want to go.
Quite often, our destinations are so habitual that we drive without thinking. These closings probably are very good for us because we have to think. And, meanwhile, we get better roads.