Dawn on Nostr: At some point, some law was passed that any interstate traversing cattle country ...

At some point, some law was passed that any interstate traversing cattle country needed to be lined on both sides with fencing and cattle guards installed at all the on and off ramps, to reduce cow/car collisions. DOT quickly jumped to action, hiring contractors to install hundred of miles of shoddy barbed wire fence. Road crews spent years tearing out ramps to install the required cattle guards. (My favorite one is where, technically, the off-ramp is in an agricultural zone but the on-ramp is in an industrial zone with less than 200 yards between them 💀)

Because of another law about doing road construction during migratory bird mating seasons, the fencing crew cut down an against-all-odds fir tree that had been growing roadside for decades, so that no birds could nest in the construction zone, for their safety. The tree was special. Because of it's tenacity to grow, local commuters loved it, and anonymous volunteers would decorated it for Christmas every year. People were outraged. It was later discovered that the tree was not technically in the construction zone and was cut down by mistake. DOT kindly conceded and planted a replacement tree. No one wanted to haul water to this new tree in the middle of nowhere and it died the first winter.

Fast forward about 7 years. The state has learned that cows rarely use interstate exits but they will plow through a shoddy fence when they are motivated to do so. Cow/car collisions remain relatively low and stable. They've also learned that cattle guards aren't meant to withstand even light, rural interstate traffic. After countless incidents of vehicle damage and replacing many broken cattle guards, contractors have started removing them. The dead tree still stand next to a tenacious fir stump that sort of looks like a bush now, but grows on.