I hope you're sitting down. They're nearly done fixing the road by my house. It has only been since March, so I hope it doesn't shock you too much. As you can see, the standard method they use to direct rain water are very deep- uncovered- ditches. That is what they're working on now. I think they're about 3 feet or more deep, lined with cement/stones so no further erosion happens. And yes, the ditches do/will FILL up with water when it rains (rains come in gallons here- no piddly sprinkling for Africa!) Of course now the problem will be that people and vehicles may fall into the deep ditches. Add to that the WHY they'll fall in- they have taken some of the width of the road away in order to make the ditches. Most of the road is now only 1.5 car width's wide. Nice. So when big trucks come down the road and you're on the side nearest the ditch- be CAREFUL!
Let's time them- how long from today do you think someone will throw up another speed bump? The construction crew cleared off the 10+ that neighbors put down. I am betting someone out there will think they're being clever, after the road is finished, to put speed bumps up to slow people down. Like the pedestrian traffic combined with narrow lanes and deep ditches isn't enough of a hazard? Ugh. Some days I do indeed wish they'd left the dirt and potholes just where they were. At least we knew what to expect...