This morning on my way to work, I encountered a rather unexpected holiday surprise. Instead of the joy and happiness I usually associate with such times, it felt more like finding a piece of coal in my stocking. If you're planning to travel on Bell in Amarillo today, be prepared for a series of headaches. Last night, some surprise construction popped up, and it's going to cause significant delays, frustrations, and a sour mood among travelers.

Construction Woes on Bell

The area affected by the sudden appearance of orange cones is south of I-40. In some places, all of Bell has been reduced to just two lanes of traffic. If you're heading southbound on Bell, you'll start seeing signs about an upcoming lane closure just after the I-40 bridge, and it continues until the area around 34th. You'll be required to keep merging lanes until you're left with one southbound and one northbound lane. It's a situation that demands your full attention and patience.

Construction is truly a major headache in Amarillo. It seems like traffic cones and lane changes are everywhere we go, springing up out of nowhere and lasting long enough to make our hair turn grey. We need to be constantly aware of what's happening on the road to avoid any unnecessary stress.

When on Bell, be prepared to slow down. You won't be able to reach your destination as quickly as you'd like. Pay close attention to what the people around you are doing. There will always be those who make merging lanes into a game of chicken, but don't be that person. Look out for signs and merge ahead of time if possible.

Watch Out for Crews

While the construction crews are working, it's crucial to slow down. Everyone wants to get home to their loved ones at the end of the day. We hope this construction project will be over as quickly as it sprung up.

Traffic in Amarillo is already a hassle, but these intersections seem to be particularly bad. If you think we missed any dangerous intersections, don't hesitate to let us know. We're happy to add more Amarillo collision hotspots to this list.

Gallery Credit: Sarah Clark. Google has truly become a remarkable tool, capable of answering almost any question. Recently, I was curious about Amarillo and went to Google. That's when I noticed the "people also asked..." section, which was both fascinating and sometimes baffling. Here are the top 10 questions about Amarillo as asked by Google.