Paving Crew Delays Cause Backup On Mass Pike

WESTON (CBS) -- We just recently celebrated the 200th birthday of Henry David Thoreau, of Concord, who wrote that "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"--and that was well before the invention of automobiles.

It's 6am and there's a 6 mile backup on the Pike EB at 128. They're still paving out there. Ouch! #trafficonthrees
— Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) July 20, 2017

There was a lot of "quiet desperation" on the pike this morning after a paving crew overstayed their welcome.

CHECK: WBZ Traffic Page

MassDOT tweeted an apology in response to one Twitter user, saying a paving operation had continued past schedule.

Apologize for the delay, due to overnight paving operations continuing past schedule.
— Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) July 20, 2017

Not long after that, another apology.

continued overnight paving operations combined with a disabled truck blocked a Lane. Apologize for the delays.
— Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) July 20, 2017

Usually these things are done by 5 a.m., but not today--and sometimes traffic means having to say "I'm sorry."

The lanes were reopened shortly after 7 a.m.