Cut it out! Cardboard worker sends drivers round the bend
HAVING spent more than a year getting stuck in roadworks on their way to work, frustrated commuters became convinced that workers were simply standing around doing nothing.
And now the council has added insult to injury by installing a cardboard cut-out that does exactly that.
The life-size figure wearing high-visibility clothing, hard hat, gloves and goggles has appeared at the road improvement scheme in Colchester, Essex – to the astonishment of motorists who complain that the real-life contractors are often nowhere to be seen.
Drivers have now taken to social media to poke fun at the ‘workman’. One posted a photo on Facebook with the caption: ‘What the workers on Ipswich Road do all day. Stand around, do nothing, even got cardboard cut-outs to replace actual workers working!!!’
Another said: ‘I did a doubletake when I saw the cardboard workman – it’s rubbing salt in the wounds of all the frustrated motorists.’
Les Blake questioned why there were always so few people working on the multi-millionpound project, which began in September 2018. He said: ‘When I go past at 4pm they’re packing up to go home. All 5 of them across the whole site!’
The cut-out is actually a health and safety measure for the workers, said a spokesman for Essex County Council. It reminds them to wear full protective clothing, avoid reversing without assistance and stick to a 15mph speed limit.
Kevin Bentley, deputy leader of Essex County Council, said: ‘Road users have been remarkably patient throughout these works and I know people appreciate the investment and long-term benefits to Colchester.’