Roadwork is an inivetable annoyance for people living in cities, as are delays that drag construction projects out for months (if not years) longer than inititally planned.

Or is that just a Toronto thing?

Anyone living in the Garden District or Church-Wellesley Village can surely tell you right now just how frustrating it is to have major roads torn up around them without a clear end date in sight — the traffic congestion, the noise, the dust, confusing barriers (or lack thereof) that lure motorists into excavated pits...

One motorist learned the hard way this week that the intersection of Church and Carlton Streets remains very much a construction site, despite initial promises that things would go back to normal by early September.

"The intersection of Carleton St and Church St is closed for streetcar track replacement until September 2," announced the City of Toronto on Aug. 20. "This critical work will help to prevent future TTC delays and keep our infrastructure in a state of good repair."

Toronto resident Charlotte Man tells blogTO that she first spotted a car stuck in a hollowed out track hole (forgive me for getting so technical) at Church and Carlton around 9:15 a.m. on Monday morning.

She took a photo at the scene and posted it to Facebook, where it got hundreds of reactions, with the caption "someone didn't believe Church / Carlton is still closed."

Another local, who goes by Okit on Reddit, shared a completely different image, shot from above, just minutes later, writing "Car drove into hole from the streetcar track replacement at Church and Carlton this morning. Apparently the barricade was not in place."

Okit says that, while barriers are usually in place, neighbours are starting to pull down barricades and knock over signs at night out of frustration.

Photos shared from the scene by other people suggest that the car got stuck in the overnight hours between Sunday and Monday while it was still dark outside.

@311Toronto Good morning! I think the signage and fencing at Church/Carlton can use some …. repairs? 😐 pic.twitter.com/BFnkiQjVqd

— Kurtis Meister (@kurtismeister) October 17, 2022

It is not clear exactly how the car pictured above got stuck or whether proper signage was in place. People have been known to move pylons on their own to barge through no-go zones in downtown Toronto. We do know, courtesy of the TTC, that the scene was cleared without any damage to city property. 

"Toronto Police conducted an investigation and the scene was cleared this morning," said a representative for the City of Toronto to blogTO when asked about the incident. "Upon assessment, there was no damage to the site and crews have returned to continue work today."

If all goes well, the normally busy intersection should reopen to motorists and diverted streetcars sometime this November, after Toronto Hydro crews replace a specific high voltage chamber.

"Work on this project will take place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Excavation activities and heavy breaking will be carried out at various times throughout the day," reads the TTC's project website as of Oct. 18.

"Overnight rail work by TTC may consist of moving new rail into position, rail installation and rail welding / grinding."

It's no wonder that neighbours are getting annoyed.