If you’re a recent north-city traveler, you and your car have likely endured the bumps and thumps of Grant Line Road.

The stretch from Tracy Boulevard to MacArthur Drive is, to say the least, less than smooth, thanks to the laying of new utilities under the pavement.

Upon last drive — which for me was Wednesday morning — Grant Line was a collection of asphalt patches, dips, ridges and riffles. And then there was the railroad crossing just west of MacArthur, a crown that required a virtual crawl over its top so as not to slam down on the other side.

They all jostled my daily driver at the not-uncautious speed of 25 mph — and much slower in the case of the railroad mini-mountain.

Apparently, it’s been even less kind to some less-attentive motorists.

On June 1, a man reported at 9:17 p.m. to police that one car’s windshield shattered and air bags deployed following a run-in with the railroad crossing, and that one other car was disabled by the rough road.

The next afternoon, a woman also complained that the stretch of pavement damaged her car.

Evidently, these motorists didn’t see the construction, or they decided the yellow “Slow” signs placed around the worst stretches weren’t sending a serious message.

I agree that the roadway isn’t up to Autobahn standards — in fact, most of it is more like the Oregon Trail. And it’s true that the signs on the sides of the street and around the railroad crossing aren’t especially prominent.

But it is obviously a construction zone. If the orange cones weren’t a clue, the patchy asphalt should be.

And if you pop the windshield of your car — even on those train tracks — you’re either driving too fast, or you need to contact your buggy’s manufacturer about some serious quality control issues.

Plus, there’s reason to abide the road’s temporary disrepair.

According to Kul Sharma of the city’s engineering department, the work that’s resulted in the rough road is part of vital infrastructure improvements. The water and sewer lines there are old and won’t meet the future needs of the area, he said, and therefore need replacing.

The reason for the less-than-awesome patchwork on the asphalt is also simple: “We are working on each individual utility to minimize the impact on traffic.” In other words, a patchy thoroughfare is better than none at all.

By my reasoning, the city had three options:

• Shut down the entire roadway during construction, impinging traffic and starving local businesses.

• Keep the road open, but repave it perfectly every time a section is done, then tear it up again, wasting lots of money.

• Keep the road open, patch it cheaply so it can function as a road but still be dug up again without much waste, then seal the whole thing with new pavement once the operation’s done for good.

The city went with Option 3. Not perfect, but an acceptable compromise. Businesses stay open and motorists still have a way through the north side of Tracy — they just have to exercise a little caution while doing so.

As for the construction, it should be done by the end of the year, Sharma told me. And when it’s done, there will be a brand-new, suitably smooth surface for local drivers.

In the meantime, the call is out for patience on Grant Line Road. Unless, that is, you want to make the police log.

• Share your thoughts with associate editor Jon Mendelson at 830-4231 or jmendelson@tracypress.com.