I was late for work last Thursday. To fully appreciate why, you need to understand three important facts about my neighborhood:

1. Washington Gas is currently working to replace the gas lines. (I much prefer this to having the neighborhood explode one evening.)
2. On Thursday morning, a work crew arrived a little before 8:00 and removed a steel plate they’d installed a few days earlier, leaving a hole and blocking that end of the street.
3. I live on a cul de sac.

The view from my front door.

The road was completely blocked with vehicles, equipment, and a hole in the pavement.