What season is it?

Growing up in Wisconsin, people used to joke that there were only two seasons: winter, and road construction. The same seems to be true in Basel this year (or at least in our neighborhood). I've yet to figure out exactly what they're doing, but for a couple months now it seems all the roads and sidewalk in our neighborhood have been completely torn up. I've seen some signs from the cable company saying something about how they're "building for our future", but then it also says "through January 2006", so certainly it can't be the cable company that's still at work here. That means they would be working past their deadline and that doesn't seem very Swiss, does it?!

As of this week, the construction has moved onto our street and the immediate block around us. It is so ugly, so messy, and SO LOUD! A few minutes ago, I could tell the clock struck 8:00 AM, as the jackhammers started up again. This forces me to close all my windows because the noise gives me such a headache. This is especially unfortunate considering the sun just came out for the first time in 5 days and I would love to let some fresh air into the house!

One of my neighbors pointed out to me the other day that it's quite remarkable that these construction guys don't seem to be wearing anything protecting their ears or their hands. Can you imagine the damage their causing their bodies? Then again, I also noticed a guy using a jackhammer the other day with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth, so I suppose facing eventual deafness is no worse than lung cancer in his book.

Is anyone else in Basel experiencing this massive wave of street construction? MAKE IT STOP BEFORE I GO CRAZY!